Triforce and Trisource Unite
by CLX-chan
Summary: SUSPENDED Peace returns to Hyrule, but returns in the Twilight Realm. Link faces many challenges, from battles to his feelings and everything becomes confusing when he learns that his master can be brought back to life.
1. Unexpected News

_Clx_ : Hello everyone ! First Fanfic ! Yay !  
_Amx_ : Well duh, it's the only one there ya dobe.  
_Clx_ : Shut it. . . _Any_way, this is a story about what I think would have happened after the war in Twilight Princess.  
_Amx_ : They don't need to know that, they'll figure it out by theirselves. Tell them something important like the couples, the plot, and the disclaimer obviously.  
_Clx_ : I was getting there ! Ahem . . . So, the couple in this was originaly Link / Midna, then it turned out to be another Link / insert name here (did you honestly think I'd tell you who?), so I guess I'll ust wing it.  
_Amx_ : You would not believe how many times she started the first chapter over and OVER!  
_Clx_ : (they don't need to know that) So, um, for the plot, Link falls into depresion not long after Midna leaves, destroying the Mirror, and when he turns 22 . . . Ah! I can't tell them anything or I'll blurt it all out!  
_Amx_ : sighs  
_Clx_ : Hehe, but I can put what the point of it is in five words : return to the Twilight Realm.  
_Amx_ : Forgetting something?  
_Clx_ : Huh? Oh yeah, some of the characters in previous Zelda games will make important appearances, such as my fav character : Sheik.  
_Amx_ :Disclaimers?  
_Clx_ : I know ! I don't own Zelda or any of the other characters except for Cassil and maybe afew others that will appear throught the story . . . if I ever finish it.

* * *

Link looked out his bedroom window, watching the sunrise in the horizon. Not much made him happy these days, but this was one of the few moments that did. The war was over, peace was restored, but what was he to do now? Even though Princess Zelda offered him gold, land and even the opportunity to marry her, he nobly refused. It was already bad enough that he as given the title _Hero_, being called the _King_ of Hyrule was even worse in his book. So he returned home to his normal lifestyle as a farm boy, the life he had before all that Hero of Time stuff was thrown at him so suddenly. Zelda respected his choice, although they both knew that she would have preferred if he had said yes.

Lately, when his mind started wandering into his past, the first thing that usually popped up was Midna and the sad expression she wore when she left, never to see him again. Since then, he had been dreaming about her, dreaming about sleeping with her that is, which he thought was normal because he was almost at the age of getting married. Not that long ago — it was actually months ago but time did not matter to him anymore —, the dreams were longer and occurred more often than they used to. One night, when he woke up because of the emotional pain the dream caused, he thought he saw her sitting in front of the fireplace. He rushed down and searched for her, but he could not find her and burst into tears.

He sighed in a depressing way and rolled out of bed. Not realizing how close the edge was, he fell over the edge and smashed his nose on the cold wooden floor.

"Great," he mumbled to himself, "Just bloody _great_."

After cleaning up the red mess that he left on the floor, he tended to his probably broken nose. It was not broken, but he sure as hell was awake now. Then he heard her, Epona making a fuss outside, growing impatient. When he got outside the first thing he saw was his red mare jumping over the gate to come and welcome him. He patted her on the nose, then mounted her, spinning her around towards the forest where he had to do his morning patrols. Everything seemed normal, not that it would not considering that all the monsters that had anything to do with Ganondorf vanished into thin air, never to be seen again, hopefully. Although, he did run into a few thieves that were trying to steal some lantern oil from Coro's poor pet myna bird, Trill. They were not much of a challenge though, a few slashes here, a few stabs there and they were gone.

Then he was off to the ranch, to help out his good friend Fado with the goats. As soon as he finished, he immediately directed himself towards the Ordon Spring, bringing Epona with him for a nice refreshing swim. The fairies were still flying here and there, occasionally coming to land on his shoulder and whisper a gentle melody in his ears that only the Goddesses could decipher, and started singing subconciously, almost in a whisper.

"You take the breath right out of me. You left a hole where my heart should be. You've got to fight just to make it through, 'cause I will be the death of you…"

He took his mare's saddle and bridles off her and took his shirt off.

"This will be all over soon. Pour salt into the open wound. Is it over yet? Let me in…"

He dove into the small deep end of the spring and let the falls massage his tense back.

"So sacrifice yourself and let me have what's left. I know that I can find the fire in your eyes. I'm going all the way, stay with me please…"

"You have a nice voice you know."

He jumped, swallowing water in the process. Ilia tapped on his back just hard enough to make him spit out the enchanted liquid, containing her laughter. After taking a few deep breaths, he glared at her.

"Never, _ever_ startle me like that again," he said with a comforting smile, although she could hear the faint menacing tone in his voice.

The mayor's daughter started laughing so hard that she was almost crying. He jumped towards her and plunged under the water bringing the young woman with him. She fought as hard as she could to escape the arms she was imprisoned in, although she did not want him to let go. Surfacing the water, Link let his prisoner go and returned under the falls. Ilia followed him.

"Now I understand why you come here after work. This feels so good and refreshing."

He turned towards her to find her eyes closed and with water up to her chin. The Hero noticed that in the last years or so that his long-time friend had gotten curvier from top to bottom, especially her hips. Her hair now reached a little lower than the middle of her back, her bangs were just above her eyebrows and with the sun, and it had turned almost the same color as his own. The only thing that he started to find troublesome was that she had started to flirt with him, which he found a little awkward considering he only wanted to be friends, but as usual, he did not say anything, not wanting to hurt his fragile friend's feelings.

"Who were you thinking of when you were singing earlier?" she asked as she looked him in the eye. He blushed and stared at his toes as if they were the most interesting thing her had ever seen. She waited patiently, knowing that he did not like talking about matters of the heart. He sighed.

"Someone who I'll probably never see again," he said in a miserable tone.

"You know, you should consider being the royal singer," she said with a mischievous smile, changing the subject.

Link looked back up at her with a dark look Ilia had never seen before, it was pretty close to when when he thought Midna died at Ganondorf's hands. His rage made him red and he exploded.

"Why the hell would I want to be the castle's clown if I didn't accept the Princess's offer to marry her!" with that, he walked away swearing in a deep whisper and forget to bring Epona on the way.

"Link, wait!" she cried, but he did not turn around. "What did I say?"

* * *

Link climbed up the ladder to his house and slammed the door behind him. He had no clue why he reacted so badly at Ilia's comment. Maybe it was because of all the extra work he had been doing because at the ranch, yes, that had to be it.

"Link, are you in there?"

_Great, now what…_ he thought to himself.

"Link, open up its Colin."

The Hylian took his time making his way to the door, he started opening it slowly and he suddenly felt something hard hit his head, twice and he fell over.

"Link! Op–"

The young boy looked inside of the house.

"Uh, Link? Where are you?" he asked quielty, "And why did the door open, isn't his house fairly new?"

He looked around once more.

"His boots are outside so he must be home."

Rusl's son took a step inside and stumbled over something strangely soft, yet quite hard.

"Ahh!"

Colin under his breath, then suddenly realised that he did ot hit the floor. Realizing what, or rather who he was towering over, he blushed. Link was lying face down and unconscious on the floor.

"L-Link?!"

* * *

When the young adult finally woke, he was in his bed and according to the stars in the now pitch black sky, it had been several hours since Colin knocked him out. He sat up and fell right back down because of the throbbing of his head. Since he could not get up, he turned his head to find Colin sleeping with his head on his arms on his bed.

"Don't you think your parents would be worried if they knew you weren't in your bed right now?" he managed to mumble.

"I'm not as young as I used to be Link," Colin said in the middle of a yawn, "I have to start learning how to be independent and all that maturing stuff."

Colin had grown a lot, he was maybe a foot or so shorter than Link but he still wasn't nearly as muscular as he was at that age. Link doubted it would take him much longer though.

"Fine, you can stay a while," he declared as he finally sat up and looked at his young friend, he could see that he was trying to contain his joy of being able to stay at his idol's house. He smiled.

"Don't forget that tomorrow you have to come to the ranch to help me with the milking to repay me for training you."

He heard a loud snore. Colin had fallen back asleep.

Link chuckled but immediately stopped due to footsteps in the basement. He slowly got out of bed, making sure not to wake Colin. His first attempt to walk failed, causing incredible pain to his head and making him dizzy. Then suddenly, Epona started making whinning outside. _What the hell's going on? _A cold wind blew around the whole house, making it seem as if it was the first week of winter. _Damn thieves, come back for more have ya? Now, where's my sword?_

He stepped over Colin and reached for his sword and slowly inched his way towards the door as he pulled it out of it's scabbard. He took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. It was barely even moved and a dark cloud made its way threw at the speed of lightning throwing Link to the floor, once again. _This' not my day. _He stood back up ignoring a new pain in his lower back. After many swings towards the darkness, he realized that he was wasting his time.

So he charged towards his weapon room, but he never made it that far. He collapsed to the ground as if he had turned into a rag doll. Using the remaining energy he had, he turned onto his back to see the face of what had attacked him but his vision became blurry and all he was able to see was glowing orange hair.

Only a few minutes later and Link woke up. Remembering what he saw before everything went black, he sat up as fast as his body would let him and ended up nose to nose with someone who looked strangely familiar. He took a closer look and saw that he had expensive looking clothes, he was probably related to royalty.

"Who... Who are you?" he stammered.

"What? Ya mean mum didn't tell ya?" the boy said with a low voice.

"Wh-What do you mean your mom did not tell me? I don't even know who you are!"

"Damn, this' gonna be harder to explain than I thought... Thanks a lot mum..." the boy sighed.

"What do you mean? Explain what? Damn it who are you!"

The boy sighed again, as if he was getting impatient with the Hylian.

"Look, as you have probably already noticed, I am the prince of the Twilight kingdom, Prince Cassil of Twilight to be more precise."

"But that means you're Midna's son, right?" Link felt a piece of his heart being ripped out when he found out that his beloved had a son and was most likely married.

"You're such a moron. Ya know that?"

Link snapped out of his daydreaming to find out that the Cassil had his hand on his face, shaking his head.

"And why am I a moron?"

"Idiot, I can't believe that ya haven't noticed yet... Look at my eyes, don't they look familiar?"

Link leaned forward to look at Cassil's eyes and was shocked. _Wait a second... Those are my eyes!_ The prince sighed once more.

"Did it finally click in? Link... Mum isn't married, I'm your son."

Link could not believe his ears. _How could this be possible? She never came to see me, that's understandable since she destroyed the Mirror. How could I… How could she become…_

"Hey, Link."

_I mean, the only time I ever _saw_ her after that was in my dreams… How could I not remember having s-_

"Dad!" Cassil shouted, getting very impatient with his father, and Link noticed that he had a bit of a disgusted look on his face.

"Have ya ever thought of the possibility that maybe your dreams weren't dreams?"

"Maybe but… Hey! How come _you_ know about my dreams? I never mentioned anything about –"

"I can read minds. I know how inconvenient, you can't keep your thoughts safe with me around…"

Link was completely ignoring his son while he was babbling on and on about his mind reading powers. His heart was invaded by the hope that he thought he had lost forever: the hope of seeing Midna once more. He realized that there must be another way to travel between the worlds and he had his son in the flesh to prove it. At least he thought he was in the flesh. He reached towards Cassil.

"I mean now I know how to control my powers and everything but before – Ow!" Cassil rubbed his arm as he felt a bruise coming along, "What d'ya pinch me for?" he said in an angry-ish voice. Link chuckled.

"Heh, sorry 'bout that. Had to make sure you were real, that's all."

"Well, next time, let me do the pinching," he mumbled.

The Hylian smiled at his son who did so back. Even though he had just confirmed that Cassil was there, he still had a hard time believing that he was having a conversation with his son… _his_ son!

* * *

Meanwhile, Ilia was laying in bed wide awake, still trying to figure out what she had said to offend Link so badly that he gave her such a cold look. After that episode, she had to bring Epona back since her best friend had charged off so fast. She could sense that Epona was worried about her master. As she thought about it repeatedly in her head, she could only come up with one solution: apologizing.

The young woman got up as quiet as the old floor would let her not to wake up her father, put on her boots and stepped into the outdoors. When she reached Link's house, which was much further and bigger that the previous one, she had a hard time finding what to apologize for. She sighed.

"Come on girl, you can do this. What's the worst thing that can happen?"

"He could hate your guts for the rest of eternity."

Ilia turned so quickly to find the source of the voice that she felt her neck crack and she found a smiling Colin.

"Hey Colin, what're you doing out here?"

"I was just gonna ask you the same question, but to tell you the truth, I have no idea why I'm out here. I was sleeping beside Link and the next thing I knew, I'm sitting beside Epona on a huge mount of hay."

"Why were you sleeping beside Link…?" she asked with a mischievous smile on her face.

"What do you… OH!" Colin face was flooded by bright pink, which Ilia seemed to notice. "I-I like Link but not in that way… I mean, I would never… How could you think

–"

Ilia burst into laughter.

"Colin, I was just kidding," she wiped a tear away.

"Oh… Heh… Never mind then!"

He forced an awkward chuckle and felt his face get even redder.

"So, what do you have to apologize for?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"You know Colin, it's as much of a mystery to me as to ending up sleeping in hay. I'm actually starting to feel worried about him. He's been so jumpy and…" she inhaled deeply, "I truly think that he's, well… depressed to say the least, but I don't know about what."

Colin thought about her last words for a second. He had noticed that Link did not look nearly as cheerful as he used to be also. Considering how well he knew him, it had to be something that troubled him greatly to make him depressed.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure he's just over working too much."

Ilia nodded and Colin turned around to go home.

"Oh, and Ilia," he said as he looked at her one last time, "Don't go thinking that it's your fault. 'Night."

He waved and then she watched him disappear into the darkness. She sighed and prepared herself to knock on the door, thinking of the best way to say _sorry_.

* * *

"So, how'd you get here? The mirror was destroyed years ago and I've searched every square inch of Hyrule and some areas of other lands."

"Huh? Oh, well of course you didn't find anything 'cause you didn't know what to look for."

Link fell silent. Now that he thought about it, Cassil was right. _Is there even another mirror?_

"Ya would have looked forever 'cause there are only two mirrors, including the one that was destroyed, and the other's location is a mystery to everybody, even it's creator."

"Who's the creator? Maybe we can ask him something that might be useful."

"There's no point there, I've already asked _Mum_ many times. She said that she couldn't find it no matter what."

"But how can she lose something so big?"

_He asks a lot of questions…_ "Well, from what the guards have told me, when she left the Twilight Realm years ago to find you, the beast that would save the kingdom, she brought it with her just in case she could not find all of the shards and while she was teleporting through our worlds, something attacked her and she dropped it. When I asked her where she thought it was, she told me that she swore that it fell into a temple, but when she went back, she never saw it again."

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain how _you_ got here."

"Us Twili can travel in time and space whenever we want thanks to our blood."

"Y-Your… What?"

Cassil laughed at the puzzled look on his father's face. That look reminded him of himself. _We're more alike than I thought we would be,_ he thought.

"My blood," he continued, "The iron in our blood cells makes our bodies able to move through worlds without damaging our organs and such, but I'm not sure how it works completely. All I know is that you won't be able to unless you use a portal, like the Mirror."

"But the only other Mirror we know about has vanished."

"There ren't only Mirrors ya know, there are other things like this."

Cassil reached for his neck, grabbed what seemed to be a pendant and held it out so that Link could get a better look at it. It was made of the purest of white golds, so pure that it was almost as white as snow. Though it either had a pearly or silvery glow depending on the angle he looked at it. The front of it was inlaid with many different sizes of sapphires and one big emerald in the middle.

"Look at the sapphires closer."

Link did as his son told him and noticed that if he stared long enough at one of them, that it seemed as though he was gazing up at a starry sky.

"Mum did some magical thing on 'em so that when ya looked at 'em long enough, ya can see the whole Universe."

Link looked up at his son with curiosity-filled eyes.

"Don't ask me how she did it though 'cause she made this before I was born and –"

"Wait a sec," he interrupted, "Midna made this?"

"Yep, she sure did. Took her a whole week to finish it. She wanted it to be perfect and told me that she started making it barely a couple hours after the Mirror was destroyed."

"Huh, is that so…"

What he admired the most about the pendant was the details, it was, as Midna hoped it would be, perfect.

"Take me to the Twilight Realm." he commanded.

"Wait, wh-what? I… I can't do that, no. Sorry, no can do," the prince said as he shook his head violently.

"Why not? Did you honestly think that after all you've just told me that I wouldn't want to go her?!"

"Look dad," for some reason, Cassil suddenly looked frightened of his father, "I can't, not right now anyway 'cause of three reasons. For one, I've been here so long that it will a big enough of a pain going back by myself. Also, if a human wishes to travel through he worlds he or she needs a Key and a Teleporter."

"And why do we need two things?" he said still furious.

"Well, just the Teleporter, such as Mirrors and such won't activate on their own, you also need a Key, or in other words an Amulet."

Link processed all this new information then remembered the many times he had traveled through time and space with Midna… without an amulet. Cassil grinned then said,

"Heh, thought ya might notice that. Mum had her hair pin thing."

"I didn't even… Oh, right, you have mind reading powers… Forgot about that. What about it?"

"You know how I told you earlier that humans had to have a sacred object or place and an amulet to activate the portal? Well, mum never liked wearing jewelry around her neck, something to do with…" Cassil froze, he couldn't say it. It was too painful to even mention HIS name.

"Cassil, are you all right?" Link leaned towards his son and grabbed him by the shoulder , bringing him out of his horrible memories.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." he stuttered.

"So, what is the third reason?" Link said in a softer voice.

"Well," he pause, as though it pained him to say the rest, "This is only recent, and also the reason why I came to you. We're at war."_

* * *

Clx :_ So? How was it?  
_Amx_ : Please give her some reviews before she starts pouting, _please_.  
_Clx_ : Pouting isn't my thing.  
_Amx_ : Right, and torturing other people isn't mine.  
_Clx_ : Shut it . . . Speaking of reviews, if you just want to flame me, take a hik and get a life.  
_Amx_ : There's nothing to flame about yet.  
_Clx_ : People always find something to flame about.  
_Amx_ : Too true.


	2. Crushed In So Many Ways

_Clx_ : OMG ! I'm so sorry ! I told you people that I would have had it finished in a few days… but it ended up being a few weeks…  
_Amx_ : At least you had a good reason for procrastinating this time.  
_Clx_ : … Stupid exams…

* * *

The sun rose in the horizon, birds chirped noisily, waking the blond. Link groaned. That goddamn sun always woke him up, blinding him momentarily when he did not want it too. Sure it was beautiul, but he prefered to sleep when he had ony fallen asleep mere hours ago. He tightely shut his eyes and wished that the blaring star would vanish with all its brightness. Saddly, life did not work like that and it stayed there, warming his pale face. He mumbled some incomprehensible words under his breath and pulled the curtains over the window. Before slumping back onto his pillow, he glanced at the large mirror in front of him. His hair was a total mess, du to his violent stirring trying to fall asleep and the cat kneading it. Yes, he had a cat now. Actually, it was not his but a stray that decided to live with him. Epona had no problem with him: he got rid of all those mice that she hated so much.

"Meow?" _Where's my breakfast?_

Link heard the cat say. Even though he could no longer transform into a wolf, his high senses remained. That was quite useful when the animal was sick or something, but the downside was that they all expected him to fix their poblems, as minor as they may be.

"I don't know, go eat a mouse or something," he answered lazily.

"Me-eow." _I want my breakfast._

"Well too bad for you, 'cause I don't intend on getting up right now."

He heard a growl and then felt him jump up on the edge of his bed. He put his head under the pillow. A snarl of frustration ecsaped from the cat's throat when he could not see those plump earlobs that he loved to leave scars on so much. His small furry head made it's way close to his ear and he bit Link.

"Me-ow-ow-ow." _Give me my breakfast, now._

"Go away, I'm trying to sleep."

"ME-MEOW MRAWL-AWL ME-E-OW!" _GET YOUR LAZY ASS OUT OF BED AND GET ME MY BREAKFAST!_

Link whimpered at the loud sound in his ears and pushed him away as he got up, finaly giving in. _Stupid cat, ordering me around… Who does he think he is?_ Link immediately felt stupid to think of such things. Complaining about a cat was pathetic.

He finaly reached the kitchen and swung the cupboard doors open and he saw it: another bloody mouse knawing through a cereal bag.

"Get out of here you filthy thing! How many times do I have to tell you that you're not welcome here?"

"Sqweak?" _Me?_

"Yeah, you. Now get out of here before I go get the broom."

The mouse whimpered (if mice can whimper) and dashed for the door. In mere seconds, it had made it's way half across the kitchen and the dinning room when the cat jumped on top of it, crushing every bone in its fragile body. Before Link could say anything, the rodent was already being devored by the fatso. The cat licked its lips.

"Meow, meow me-meow. Meow." _Boy am I stuffed, that thing was fatter than it looked. I don't think I could eat anything else._

Link's eyes glowed with anger and his hand firmly gripped the nearest butcher knife.

"You mean to say that I got up for _nothing_?" Link asked darkly, "On a Sunday morning, on one of my few days off?"

The cat gulped.

"M-Meow-ow… Ow." _I-I just remembered I'm supposed to be somewhere… Bye._

With that the cat ran towards an open window.

"COME HERE YOU OVERWEIGHT SON OF A –"

* * *

As the water of fell over the falls from the unknown to the springs, they relaxed the Hero's tense muscles. He was going to miss this place. It was not like he was leaving forever, but he was going to be gone Goddesses know how long because of the new war in the Twilight Kingdom.

A fairy landed on his shoulder and murmured those incomprehensible melodic words.

"You might come in handy over there."

Link stood up and shook his hair, misting the now giggling fairies with cold water. After putting his shirt back on, he detached a bottle from Epona's saddle and held it up.

"Do you mind?" he asked the fairy.

It flew right into the bottle and he laughed, putting the cork back in it's place. He always wondered why these fairies were so eager to help everyone. And what happens to them after they save a person in need? Did they die, and immortal giving up it's life for a mortal's? Or did they simply resurrect on one of the springs? He did not know, and would probably never know.

He did not bother putting Epona's saddle and bridle back on her, his house was not that far and it never hurt anyone to walk, now did it. As he pat his mare, he thought about what his son told him the previous night, from everything to hi creation to the war, especially the war.

"_Wh-What? What do you mean you're at war?" Link asked, baffled._

"_It's hard to believe ain't it?"_

"_Who started it, Ganondorf?"_

"_Oh, no, of course not. Ya sealed that fool's soul away for good when ya killed him with your master sword. I don't think he'll ever bother anyone in this world ever agin. At least I hope."_

"_Then, who? Who can possibly have enough power?"_

"_Some other fool called Akuma invaded the castle with the help of a traitor, well he was mor of a spy but ya get my point. The traitor was disguised as one of us Twili when in fact he was of the Utvist clan: the sworn ennemis of the Twili. The worst part is that he was mum's most trustworthy soldier, and strongest."_

The Utvist… Where have I heard that name before?

"_Heard of it, probably never because no one dares pronounce thir name in the kingdom, but you might have read it in some of the Sol chambers."_

"_I thought there were only two Sols."_

"_Actually, there is at least a good hundreed of them and the fragment of the castle that you saw is nothing compared to the whole thing."_

"_Huh… So, who are they, the Utvist?" Link asked, coming back to the subect._

"_It's a tribe of exiled Twilis," Link frowned, "They were exiled in the first place because they crabed for blood, not drinking it, just spilling it. Eventually, their eyes turn white and tattoo form on their face, although I don't know why. Some way that the brighter they are, the more violent the Utvis will be. The traitor's markings are blinding so I hope that that's only a rumour."_

"_So do I, Cassil. So do I…" Link said in a whisper._

_Click _

_They both turned around and saw a shadow move away from the front door._

"_Do ya want me to go check it out?" Cassil asked, ready to pounce away._

"_Shouldn't _I_ be the one asking _you_ that?" Link said amusedly.._

"_Yeah, I guess. So, are you going to ask me to check it out or what?"_

_The blond rolled his eyes with a chuckle._

"_No, it's okay. I'm sure it was probably just the cat."_

"_That's one pretty big cat," Cassil said mockingly._

"_Fine, do as you wish."_

_As soon as those words escaped his mouth, Cassil was in front of the door and opened it, his daggers in his hands, ready to attack whatever was outside. The door slowly creaked open and, nothing. There was nobody there, not in sight that is. Cassil knew someone was there, he could feel their presence, but the aura surrounding him was not threating, it was actually protective._

"_So, any big monster at my doorstep?" Link asked with a vague irritation._

"_Nope, no one."_

"_Cassil," his son turned around to look at his father and was surprsed to see such a serious look on his face, "When do we leave on our quest?"_

_The Twili boy smiled._

"_Tomorrow if ya can."_

"_Of course I can, live are on the line here, including yours. I can't just sit back and wait. If I could I'd leve right now but I need my rest."_

"_Alright then, be ready at sundown and I'll meet you at the bridge. Pack all the stuff you'll need and as soon as I see you, we're off."_

Lost in his thoughts, Link did not notice the young woman standing in front of him and would have bumped right into her if Epona did not give him a push on his shoulder.

"Hi, Link," Ilia said saddly.

"Hey, Ilia, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine."

Link nodded, not convinced.

"Link?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

His eyes slightly widened.

"Why're you apologizing?"

Now Ilia's eyes went wide.

"What do you mean _why_? Weren't you mad at me yesterday?"

"Mad at you, for what?"

"I…" Ilia rubbed thebacl of her head, "I don't know, but you got angry at me all of a sudden and stomped off, so I assumed you were angry with something I said."

"Oh, yeah, _that_…"he said, remembering the little episode, "I should be the one apologizing, not you, Ilia. I had no good reason to get so mad over something you said. I guess that my emotions weren't really stable."

"You mean like a woman when she's on her period?"

"Hey, at least leave me some of my dignity."

Ilia laughed, making him smile.

"I'll miss you, Link," she murmured sorrowfuly.

"What do you mean you'll miss me?"

"Don't act all innocent, Link. I know you're planning on leaving," he winced, "Although I don't know where, I wish you luck."

He opened his mouth once, twice, like a gapping fish, not finding the right words to say.

"… Thanks," he finaly answered.

Ilia gave a weak smile and her eyes became watery. Link frowned.

"Ilia, please don't cry. I'm coming back, I just know when because this war will be unpredictable."

"Exactly! You don't know what's going to happen, you never do! But you keep charging into other peoples problems and putting your life on the line!" she sobbed.

"Ilia, be rational. Have I ever been mortaly hurt during the last war? No, so why would I be this time?"

"I don't know Link, but please don't go."

"I have to, or else my friends and family will die. If you don't mind, I have to start packing soon, so."

Link side-stepped, passing beside a wide-eyed Ilia, Epona following close behind him. Tears escaped her blue eyes, rolling down her warm cheeks and falling to the ground. Her legs were now shaking and gave in on her in mere seconds, makings her fall to the ground. She turned her head around, and watched the Hero, her Hero, walking away.

"Link," she said almost in a whisper, as she got back up to her feet.

He did not turn around.

"Link," she said almost in a shout, walking towards him.

The Hylian still did not turn.

"Link!"

He stopped, looking over his shoulder to find his best friend dashing towards him. He was barely turned around when she crashed into him, putting her arms around him in a death hug, sobbing her heart out. Slowly, yet unsurly, he hugged her back.

"I-I don't want… to l-lose… y-you," she muttered between cries.

"You wont, Ilia. I'll come back, I promise," he reassured her.

"You don't understand, Link, I can't live without you."

_Oh no, please don't tell me…_

"I don't know what I'd do without you. I…"

_Damn it…_

"I love you, Link."

"Ilia, I... don't know what to say."

"I know you don't feel the same way about me, Link, and that someone else has stolen your heart, but I had to tell you."

Link sighed.

"I'm sorry, Ilia."

She tightened her grip on him.

"Link?"

"Hm?"

"Can you kiss me, just this once?"

Link tensed.

"Ilia, I don't think –"

"Please, Link, just this once. Who knows if I'll ever see you again."

He sighed mentaly. _I'm so weak._ Slowly, he leaned closer to her and gently pressed his lips against hers. _I'm going to regret this._ They parted after what seemed an eternity for both of them, but not necessarily good one for the Hylian.

"Thank you, Link."

"I have to go."

And with that, he left her standing in the middle of the road, to prepare for his new quest, to save his family and the rest of he Twilight Kingdom.

"Link?"

He sighed, not turning around.

"Yes, Ilia?"

"Who was with you last night?"

The Hylian fronze.

"No one you know. Why do you ask?"

"Because I thought I saw someone sitting across from you on the couch, but I couldn't see his face."

"Wait a sec, you came by yesterday?"

"Well, I did to apologize, but then I saw that you were already occupied, so I left."

_So she's the one who made that noise last night._

"Is that all you wanted to ask me?"

"Um, yeah, I think so," she mumbled, looking at her feet.

"Alright then, I have to go."

Again Link turned around one last time, or at least he hoped.

"So what, you're not going to say goodbye?" Ilia asked with a hurt tone.

He kept on walking.

"Link! Are you listening to me?"

No answer.

"Link turn –"

"I'm not going to say goodbye, and I never will to anyone unless I don't plan on ever seeing them again. Just so you know, I fully intend on coming back."

* * *

After he finished tidying up the house, not wanting to have to come back to a total mess after his journey, Link looked once more around before taking his lantern into the storage room in the basement, where all his weapons where. He never really liked going down there, it always seemed so, dark. Not dark as in darkness, but evil. He did not know what, but something in that room just did nit feel right.

He grabbed everything that he thought would be usefull: his bow, his boomerang, his bomb bags — he would have to stop at barnes for more of the three kinds —, his double clawshot, the spinner, well practicaly everything but the slingshot. He walked over to his storage cabinet, to get some potions and medicinal herbs.

As he got up, he saw his reflection in a mirror. The mirror was beautiful. It was made of pure gold and many rubies were inlaid all around it. He was saddened at the sight of it, for a long lost friend gave it to him a long time ago. He could still remember his heart-warming smile, his long blond hair that danced around his face in the cool summer breeze, his always perfectly tanned skin that glimmered in the moonlight and most of all, his fierce yet understanding scarlet red eyes, the eyes that he … that he saw staring back right at him? _What on earth…_ No, they were not his friends eyes, for one he probably died after he disapeared long ago, and the ones that he saw glaring at him intently in the mirror were only cold and malicious.

Curious, Link approached the mirror, making sure that it was not just his mind playing games on him. Unfortunately, it was not. It was as if those red eyes were his, they followed every movement he made with precision. The closer he got to it, the more his appearance changed. His hair became silver, his skin darkened and even his clothes changed. His hand automatically reached out to touch his reflection and as soon as he did, he regreted it. His hand stuck to the glass, and a brief surge of electricity shot through his arm, numbing the tip of his fingers. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard a whisper. Despite the fact that he turne his head left and right, he could not see anything else but himself and his reflection, his reflection that was now smiling back at him with sharp teeth.

"It was about time, Hero," his reflection said in one of the most seductive voices Link had ever heard, "I think it's 'bout time we have a little chit-chat, don't you?"

Before he knew it, dark clouds shot out of the mirror as they surrounded him, suffocating him, and then everything went black.

* * *

What… we going… with him? he barely heard a childish voice ask.

_What happened?_

How am… supposed… know idiot? another voice replied, the woman who it belonged to sounded annoyed.

He tried to open his eyes, but he was still too weak. _Where am I?_

I wasn't asking you, I … thinking … loud.

Still, a woman said barely audible for human ears, We shouldn't leave him lying on the ground, his looks dead. I'll bring him up to my room.

… is right, a velvety male voice said, He shouldn't have to stay there until _He_ decides what to do with him. But I think he should stay in _my_ room.

_I remember now, something knocked me out in the basement, something that came out of the mirror._

: Will you perverts shut it? Can't I guy try to sleep in peace for once without you nagging each other? : a sad voice mumbled.

_If I'm _in_ the mirror, how the hell am I supposed to get out?_

It sucks that _He_'s been paying so much attention to that mortal thing lately. And the worst part is that this idiot didn't even know it. At least I would show some appreciation if…

WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP! another woman yelled, Who cares what happens to him or where he stays in the meantime? All I care about is killing, so if I can't even do that, I don't give a damn and you shouldn't either.

Link's eyes finaly opened. He spotted seven figures, darkened by the shadows cast by the tall pillars supporting what should have been a ceilling, but instead was just what seemed to be pitch black darkness. _Even if I do find a place to escape, how am I supposed to fight all of these people in the state I'm in?_ The first man sighed.

Still as brutaly loud as always, huh … ?

Did anyone ask you to join the conversation … ? No, so shut up you insolent pile of shit.

_Damn it, why can't I hear their names._

I dare you to say that again.

You, insolent, pile, of, sh–

"Now, now that is quite enough," the seven voices he heard fighting seconds ago died out, "You're going to wake our guest, not that he can be more so than he aleady is."

Link chuckled, but regreted it, causing him a great pain in the abdomen.

"You knew?"

"Of course I did, everything you know I know as well. For example, that kid of yours, what was his name… Cassil? Smart kid, but so naïve. Oh, and I know about his mother too of course, you know, that beautiful Twili queen that you ban–"

"Shut up," Link said between his gritted teeth.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I touch a nerve there _Hero_?"

"Shut or I swear I'll rip you apart limb by limb."

"Why should I? If you want to give orders to someone, tell them to that bitchy –"

Link snapped.

"I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP OR –"

He gasped, no more words came out of his mouth when he finaly lifted his eyes up to look at the man standing in front of him. He scanned him with his wide eyes. Except for the fact that he had silver hair, red eyes and darker skin, he looked exactly like…

"I believe now is a good time for me to introduce myself, now isn't it?" the man gave wide grin, "Hi Link, I'm your other half, your evil half… Dark Link."

His mouth opened and closed like a gapping fish. He only believed in things that he could see, but this was an exception. _Didn't Zelda tell me that he was destroyed?_

"D-Dark… Link?" Link asked confused, eyes still wide.

"Yeah dumbass, Dark Link, do I need to spell it out for you?"

Link grimaced at the slight insult.

"How come you're still alive?"

"Do you honesly think I would tell you?"

"No, but a guy can try, right?" he replied as he slowly stood up, on his guards.

The seven shadows moved closer, but not enough for Link to give them a face. They were all laughing, that only made him suspicious.

"May I ask, what's so funny?"

Nothing much, we're just imagining what you'll look like after we beat the crap out of you. Well, when Dark does anyway.

Man are you ever going to messed up.

: If possible, I'd like there to be no blood spilled at the moment, I'll miss it. :

Then wake up you fool.

: I'm too tired. :

"That's enough," Dark said with a dictatorial tone, "That doesn't really matter, what does is the reason he's here."

"And why am I here?"

"Is asking questions the nly thing you can do, _Hero_?" Dark said with boredom, but smirked at the face his lighter half did at the title, "I brought you here to give you a warning. To tell you to mind your own business and stay out of the Twilight war."

"What're you going to do to me if I refuse? 'Cause there's no way I'll sit this one out."

"You shouldn't be worried about what going to happen to you," he waved a hand and one of his minions left, "But rather what's going to happen to him."

The Shadow stepped aside, letting Link see the horrible sight behind him. If he thought his eyes were wide before, now they couldn't even compare. Lying in the obscurity, the minions foot crushing his head, was his son.

"Cassil?" Link breathed.

"D-Dad, get out of here," he retorted, half conscious, "Don't worry about me."

Now isn't that the worst thing to say. Look at yourself, your pathetic.

"You see Link, this boy of yours–"

Dark did not have time to finish his sentence, as Link charge at his with his sword in hand, ready to hack him in half. But before he reached him, two of the Shadow's subordinates grabbed ahold of his arms.

"Don't you dare put another scratch on him! If you touch a single hair on his head I'll–"

"Oh, you mean like this?" Dark asked as he clutched onto Cassil's hair, causing great pain to the Twili boy.

"Let him go!"

Dark sighed.

"Will one of you shut him up already?"

With pleasure, the fierce woman said as she crakced her knuckles.

"Get away from him!" Cassil shouted hoarsely at the woman, "He has nothing to do with this. Take me and leave him alone!"

Like that'll ever happen.

Dark Link chuckled as he got up, still firmly gripping the boy's hair, and walked towards the Hero of Time. Link scowled at him. _If only looks could kill…_

"Aren't you the one who should be saying that, _Hero_? I find I kind of odd that your son is trying to protect you. I wonder if he would still want you alive if h knew _why_ this war started in the first place."

The seven shadows chuckled.

"I have nothing to do with this war, but–"

"On the contrary _Hero_, this is _all your_ fault, and yours only."

Now, he was laughing too, it grew louder and louder until they all heard a slitting sound, followed by slow dripping. Dark staggered backwards and fell onto the cold floor with a heavy crash. Cassil lay at his father's feet eyes wide with surprise. His eyes scanned the blond man: his sword was safely in it's scabbard, but there was fresh blood on the hilt and his father's hand. _I didn't even see him draw his sword._

"Cassil," Link finaly said, "Look away and close your eyes."

His son was frozen to the spot, not sure if he should be in awe or scared.

"Now, Cassil!"

The Twili did not wait to be told a third time and burried his face in the palm of his hands right before another blow was heard and two hard thumps, resulting in cries escaping from the shadows' throats. Cassil's eyes slowly lifted up and he came face to face with horrorstruck black eyes.

"AHH!" he shouted as he jumped back, tumbling over the second inert

He gasped and found just enough strength in his legs to get up and fall against something yet again. Two arms wrapped around him into a tight grasp. He kicked and punched in random directions violently, yelling what sounded like insults and coarsing in Twili based on his tone.

"Let me go, let me go, let me _go_!"

"Cassil! It's me, Link!"

The boy stopped instantly and looked into deep blue eyes.

"Dad?" he asked with teary eyes, ready to spill at ay moment.

"Yes, it's me son. You're okay, it's over."

Cassil gave a weak smile and turned around into his father's arms, sobbing is heart out.

"They're… they're… dead," he stuttered.

"I know Cassil, I know," Link patted his son's head, "Let's get out of here, okay?"

He nodded, wipping away his tears. _This must have too much for a young kid like him. There must be something wrong with me to charge into the middle of a war at his age._ Link put his arm around his son's shoulder and Cassil pointed the vortex behind them.

"That's our exit."

Link smiled and walked towards the dark whirlpool. Just before Link's fingers reached it, he heard heavy hacking coming from a few feet behind him. Curious, he looked over his shoulder, only to find his darker half standing only few feet from them, all seven shadows inches from him, blood escaping his mouth.

"Did you… honestly… think that… you'd be able… to leave so… easily?" he muttered between breaths.

"Well, no, but it looks like I will, now doesn't it?" he replied impassively.

"Think again…"

Dark Link stood up straight and the Hero's eyes grew wide. _What the…_ Where there had been a deep gash across his Shadow's chest, was now a white scar. _How did the hell did he heal so fast?_

"It would be a shame to destroy you right now," Dark announced with a demonic grin, "So instead, hear are some farewell gifts."

Before either Link or Cassil saw him coming, the Shadow drew a dagger and cut across Link's face. The Hero stumbled back, putting his right leg through the portal. Cassil clutched tightly onto his father's arm.

"See you soon, Hero."

With that said, Dark violently thrust the eye sized ruby at the back of his blade into Link's rib cage, effortlessly snapping some in half, pulling a painful yelp from him as his eyes grew wide. His legs gave in, and he fell through the vortex, his son still tightly holding his arm. _Damn… it… _

"Dad!"

* * *

"AHH!" Colin woke with a start, hair stuck to his sweat drenched forehead.

He looked around his room to find the source that disturbed his sleep. A picture frame was laying on the ground, face down. He sighed lazily and threw his legs over his bed, putting his feet on the cold wooden floor, making him shiver. He slumped over to pick up the mess when he noticed the painting that was inside the frame. It was Link and him, painted with detail by Ilia. He frowned.

"What the…"

The frame was not broken, and the glass was cracked nowhere but Link's chest.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

As superstitious as he was, Colin slowly crept to his window after putting his boots on and jumped into a haystack. A light breeze blew by, rizing the hair on his neck.

"Damn it… when am I going to learn that I should wear my coat at night," he mumbled irritatedly.

He kept on walking towards Link's house and noticed an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. The sensation grew stronger and stronger with each step until it was unbearable, so he sat down, taking deep breaths. Then all of a sudden, he felt a stab below his ribs, then for some reason, he felt as though someone had disapeared, vanished into thin air or maybe even… died. But not just anybody, someone close to him like family of even a friend. He frowned as he stood up, trying as hard as he could to supress his pain. He walked at a steady pace at first, but started walking faster and faster until he was eventually running.

Almost crashing into Link's front door, he sighed and chuckled at himself.

"What am I getting worked up so much about? For all I know Link I probably sleeping in his bed," he thought out loud.

He hesitated and knocked. No one answered so he let himself in.

"Link? Are you there?"

The walked into the middle of the house and looked around, still calling out for his friend. _Where is he…_

After searching every inch of the house, he looked through a window to see if Epona was gone. Colin found it odd that she was still in her stabble, and she looked jumpy, as if she felt the same pain he did.

"He doesn't do patrols in the forest at this time. Even if he just left the house, he would never leave without Epona… Something's not right."

Then he finaly noticed something. Well, to be precise, he actually noticed… nothing. Not even the faintest energy trace that Link usualy left behind. He no longer felt Link's presence, even though he was not right beside him. He could feel that something was wrong.

"Ilia!" he shouted, his voice full of panic, as he raced out of the house onto the road that led to Ilia's.

The first thing he did was trip over a root, he was as clumsy as an elephant in a glass store when he was in a hurry. He did not even bother to tend to his bloody knees, to look his scrapped hands and to notice the cuts on his, he got to his and kept on running as if nothing happened, only to fall into a pothole.

"Son of a… Why do I have to be so God damn clumsy?"

"Let me help you young one," a mystical voice said from behind him.

Colin jumped, slowly turning his head, but before he could see anything, two large white wings wrapped around him and he begun to spin at a nauseating speed.

* * *

Ilia shifted and turned in her bed and ended up giving up. She could not relaxe, knowing that Link was no longer in his house, probably already at the Castle by now. She sighed, remembering what he said to her hours ago.

"_Ilia," he said softly, "You're the only one that knows that I'm leaving and I'd appreciate it if it stayed like that."_

"_But Link, what if someone wants to see you? What am I supposed to tell them?"_

"_That I'm either at home or off on patrol."_

"_What?" she asked confused, "But won't they realise that I was lying when they can't find you?"_

"_That won't be a problem, Ilia. You see, my… friend, is very good with magic. He's going to put an illusion on the village so that everyone who enters it will be able to see me, touch me, hear me and even smell me." _

"_What about Epona? Everybosy knows that you never leave without her."_

"_The same goes for her, there's nothing to worry about, Ilia."_

Ilia grunted. _Nothing to worry about, yeah right._ She tried to be angry with him, but she just could not, it was not her nature. She sighed then something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. It was a fluffy feather of the purest white, dancing around in a non-existent breeze. Out of nowhere, faster than you can blink, the plume drowned the room with a bright flash of yellow light, blinding her momentarily. She rubbed her eyes and when she opeed them, she saw someone sitting in the middle of her floor, looking just as dazed her.

"Colin?" she asked.

"Ilia? What are you doing here?"

"No the question is : What are _you_ doing here in my room?"

"What? Your room?" he said as he looked around.

"How on earth did you get here?"

"Beats me."

His eyes wentwide as he suddely remembered why he was here, practicaly trhowing himself at her, gripping her by her arms.

"Ilia! Link is gone!"

She sighed.

"Yes Colin, I know."

"What? You knew?"

"Of course I did, he told me that he was going on a patrol tonight, although he didn't say why."

"No Ilia, not gone as in not home, gone as in nowhere to be found!"

"What are you talking about Colin, Link told me that–"

"Don't lie to me Ilia, where is he?"

"Colin," she said as she arched and eyebrow, "I've already told you where he is."

"Well then he's the one that lied to you."

"And why would he?"

"I don't know, but I do know that he never leaves without Epona."

Ilia's felt something in her stomach.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything, Ilia," he paused, calming down, "Epona is still at his house."

Ilia froze, not believing what she just heard.

"Epona is…is still… there?" she asked horrified.

"Yes, now tell me : Where is he?"

Ilia's eyes wet wide and ran out of her room.

"Ilia?" Colin asked, "Ilia!"

She barged into Link' house screaming her best friend's name non-stop. Tears filled her eyes when no reply came and she soon rushed to the window to see if Colin was right about Epona still being there. Saddly, she was and that only added more panic and fear to her young heart.

"Link! Link answer me please! Link!" she kept on yelling, her eyes filled with tears, but in vain.

Just as she was about to run back outside, she slammed into Colin.

"Ilia, calm down, please." _And I thought I was a mess when I found out._

"No! I won't calm down! Link is gone, gone I say! He's probably injured or being tortured by some monsters! We have to find him, we just have to!"

"Ilia…"

"Don't you _Ilia_ me, Colin! Link may be in danger and… and I have to save him!"

Ilia tried to push her way past Colin, but he grabbed onto her arms and held her tightly in his.

"Let me go! I have to save him! Let me GO!"

"Ilia, you're getting way ahead of yourself. For all we know he could have gone into the forset without Epona and not be in any danger."

"Don't say that, you know that he's in danger just as much as I do! I _have_ to save him!"

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

Ilia froze and became silent.

"Even if we do find him, we couldn't do anything to help him, even less save him."

Silent tears fell over her warm cheeks. Colin loosened his grip as some escaped his eyes also.

"We'll just have to wait until he comes home," he paused, whipping his eyes, "Like he always does. Trust me, this time will be no different."

Ilia lost all of the remaining strength in her legs and fell to her knees, burrying her face in her shaking hands, letting out all of her panic. Colin kneeled down beside her, putting a comforting arm on her shoulder. When she felt the contact, she lifted her redpuffy eyes to look into his.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

Colin only smiled as he watched her tiredness slowly consume her.

"Ilia, I should bring you home."

"But what if Link arrives while we're gone?"

"I'll come back and stay here until he returns. They're's nothing to worry about."

To that, Ilia smiled. _They're more alike than I ever thought they would be._ She tried to stand up, but only ended up falling on Colin. He chuckled as he picked her up into his arms, carrying her all the way to her house.

As soon as they reached the house, Ilia thanked him once more before stepping inside and Colin headed straight back to Link's. It felt weird for him to be in his house without him being there, it felt like it was missing the park that made it feel like a home. He sighed as he walked over to the couch, picking up a blanket on the way. His exhausted body fell onto the cushions and his eye lids slowly fell. They finaly finished closing when all of a sudden the house start to shake, making him fall right off of his improvised bed.

"What the hell was that?" he asked himself as he rubbed the back of his head.

Just as he was getting back up to his feet, another stronger shake made him fall right back down. Although this time, he heard something that could have been glass breaking in the basement. _Link isn't going to be happy about this if that was something–_

"Help! Somebody help!" a cry interrupted his thoughts.

Colin shot straight up and listened carefuly.

"Someone, please! My dad's hurt!"

_The basement!_ He was back up to his feet faster than he ever thought he could and practicaly fell down the ladder, slamming his head on the floor again.

"Ouch… that's gonna leave a mark…"

"Who's there?" the voice asked in terror.

"A friend," he said as he walked closer to the two figures, "Let's get your dad to–"

Colin's eyes grew wide at the sight before him: a Link was laying in the young man's arms, blood dripping from his mouth, clutching his side.

"Please, you've got to help my dad."_

* * *

Clx: Yahoo! Dark Link makes his first appearance!__Amx_ : I think they already knew that baka.  
_Clx_ : I know, I'm just really excited 'cause he's one of my fav characters.  
_Amx_ : Speaking of DL, wh do you think his 7 minions are?  
_Clx_ : I'll give you a hint : They where inspired from a relatively popular anime.  
_Amx_ : That's too easy, it's from–  
_Clx_ : Shush ! Of course you find it easy, you know you baka-twit! So hush! I don't want you to spoil the surprise. (you can still guess in reviews though :D)  
_Amx_ : … Sorry…  
_Clx_ : (Omg, she said sorry ! … that's a first …) Oh, and for all you Sheik lovers out there, he will probably make his first appearance in the next chapter, so please be patient with me.  
_Amx_ : And he'll be there for the rest of the story because he's one of the main characters… he's actually going to be in it more than Cassil.  
_Clx_ : Um… Yeah… For the cat part, that actually happened to me the other day, except that my cat wasn't talking… but I asumed that he was hungry because, well, he always is.  
_Amx_ : Hn, like you're one to talk.  
_Clx_ : And you're so much better? So, about the whole part with Colin… I'm not sure I liked it, it was sorta rushed you see.  
_Amx_ : Please tell us what you think so far.  
_Clx_ : Yep, please do!  
(_Clx_ : Ps, do any of you get why I named the chapter Crushed In So Many Ways ?)


	3. Countless Speedbumps

_Clx_ : Sorry ! Sorry ! Sorry ! Sorry ! Sorry !  
_Amx_ : Ah, shut up ! I think they get it.  
_Clx_ : I know , but I feel so bad for taking this long for such a short chapter !  
_Amx_ : You call this short ?  
_Clx_ : Well , no but for the time it take it can be considered short.  
_Amx_ : Point taken. Anyway , at least you kept your promise.  
_Clx_ : Huh ? Oh , yeah , Sheik makes his first appearance ! Yay !  
_Amx_ : Enjoy people , this took many dreams to create.  
_Clx_ : Again… I'm sorry , I whad final exams and I moved and a whole bunch of stuff just happened !  
_Amx_ : Shut up already !  
_Clx_ : Hai…

* * *

"How did this happen?" Colin asked the Twili boy.

"I don't know how dad ended up in the Realm," Cassil looked at his passed out father, sleeping peacefully on the couch beside him, "but all I can remember is him attacking Dark Link and being attacked right before we left."

"Wait a minute, did you say Dark Link?"

"Yeah, he's sort of a copy of dad, but way more evil and maybe even stronger."

Colin frowned. _Why does Link always have to get caught up in situations like this…? _Cassil's head tilted to the side and quickly came back into place due to the uncomfortable position of his neck as his eyes slowly shut and reopened.

"You can sleep you know. I'll take care of him."

Cassil smiled and immediately fell face first into the mattress, falling to sleep instantly, but sadly fo him, his slumber did not last long as a door slammed open, making Colin and him fall from their chair. Once Colin lifted his aching head from he cold floor, he saw a heavily panting Ilia in the doorway.

"I came… as soon as… the falcon… reached my house," she panted, "Where… is… he…?"

"Right here, Ilia."

When her eyes met her best friend, she ran to the couch, almost tripping many times in the process, tears streaming down her cheeks, silent sobs escaping her throat. Just before she reached them, she fell to her knees and took Link's hand in hers, clutching it hard, wishing she could take him in her arms and protect him from all the violence he had endured. Colin put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Cassil just watched the scene before him, wondering what she was to Link, because it was obvious that he was everything to her. Ilia lifted her head to look at Colin, then her eyes gazed upon Cassil.

"Who're you?" she asked with more aversion than necessary.

"He's Link's son," Colin answered for the boy, "It's thanks to him that–"

"Like I care," she replied harshly, "He could be a prince for all I care. Tell him to get out."

"He has more of a right to be here than us Ilia, he's Link's family, and if you want him gone so badly, tell him yourself."

"Like I'd talk to such filth."

"Ilia…"

"Oh, don't start Colin…" she said as she put her head back on Link's shoulder.

"U-Um…" he started, Colin giving him a warning with his eyes, but to that he only shook his head, "If… if it makes you feel any better, I only found out that he was my father a few weeks ago because we needed his help. I don't think that mom intended on telling either of us."

Colin smiled at his attempt to cheer Ilia up, and chuckled when it worked. _He really is his father's son: helping everybody, even those he doesn't know._

"Thanks, um…"

"C-Cassil, Prince Cassil."

Ilia slightly blushed.

"That's... that's a nice name. What does it mean?"

"I never thought much about it before, but I believe it means Angel in Ancient Twili."

"It suits you," she mumbled with a smile.

This time Cassil blushed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Thanks Cassil, for telling Colin about Link's beaten up state and sorry, for everything I said earlier. I don't know what got into me."

"Apology accepted."

"Ugh… You guys talk too much…" they heard a mumble say.

All three heads turned towards Link. He was already sitting up, his eyes still half asleep.

"Link!"

"Link!"

"Link!"

"Yes, that's my name, don't wear it out," he said with a smile, making the other three roll their eyes.

_He can still manage to have a sense of humour when he's like that, he's one incredible guy,_ Ilia thought.

"Can one of you tell me why you're all around me… It's scary."

"Well, you–" Colin began.

"It' scary!?" Ilia practically yelled.

_Oh no, here it comes,_ Link and Colin thought.

"What do you mean it's scary? We were worried sick about you, Link! You just disappeared and when we find you, you're all bloody and broken!"

"Look, Ilia, I can explain."

"I don't want you to explain! I want…" a tear slid down her cheek, "I want you to stop fighting, to stop getting hurt. I just can't take seeing you like this anymore!"

Cassil shifted in his seat, looking at his fingers, as was Colin.

"I'll… I'll be sleeping," he said all of a sudden, "Call me if you need me."

"And I should be getting home so, I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow," Colin said, "Tell me if anything happens."

With that said, they both left their separate ways after waving goodnight. When they were both gone, Link looked back at Ilia, who did not take her eyes off him for a second.

"Ilia," he sighed, "This is the only time you've seen me like this."

"Once too many, and even though it's the first, I still imagined what happened when you were gone saving Hyrule while I had food and a roof to sleep under."

"As far as I know, this is the first time someone's beaten me up so bad. I won't let it happen again… At least I'll try," he said the last part under his breath.

"That won't be hard."

Link raised a brow.

"And why would that be?"

"Because you're not going anywhere, not to the town, not to the other world you told me about, you're staying here, in Ordon."

"Ilia, that's not an option."

"And why not? It's not like the world will end if you don't go to one single war."

"No, the world won't end, but our's will. If something happens to the Twilight Realm, it's going to affect our's. I can't just sit back and ignore this, Ilia."

"But why, why you? Isn't other people who can save their land?"

"Yes, but none of them would succeed, not with the ennemies we're up against and besides, I'm the legendary beast that saved their world once. It's only natural that I should help again."

They looked deep into each others eyes for a while, then Ilia threw herself into his arms, crying like she was minutes ago. He winced at the blow, his wounds still weren't perfectly healed. _They should have given me a fairy._ Slowly, but hesitantly, he put his arms around her.

"Promise me this, Link: come back home safely."

He tightened his hug.

"I'll come home safely, Ilia, don't worry."

* * *

"Link is leaving again, isn't he?" Colin asked.

"Sure is," Ilia aswered as she took a sip from her drink.

"A war's waiting for him, isn't it?"

"Yeah," she mumbled through another sip.

"So, this is it, eh?"

"Yep, pretty much," she said, once again, between sips.

"I never thought of you as a drinking kind of person."

"Hn, I guess that means you don't know me very well then."

"You do know you shouldn't drink in the morning, right, Ilia?" Colin asked concerned.

"Um-hm…"

"Then… why?"

"So it's not as painful when he leaves."

Colin rolled his eyes.

"He's coming back Ilia, don't worry."

"The last time a certain _someone_ said that I shouldn't worry, Link came back all bloody and what not," she retorted with a faint glare directed towards Colin.

A sigh escaped his lips.

"We should get going, Link's about to leave and we wouldn't want to miss–"

"Way ahead of you sport," she shouted over her shoulder from outside.

"W-When did she… Hey! Wait for me!"

By the time Colin caught up with Ilia, she was already beside Link, helping Cassil and him to properly put their equipement on their horses' sadles. Link smiled when he saw his panting friend walking up to them. He gestured the well with his head and Colin just about threw himsef into it.

"You run pretty fast, Ilia," Cassil said with a laugh.

"Especially for a drunk," Link mocked.

"I'm good at holding my liquor," she smiled.

When Colin finaly took his head out of the fount, he walked over to his companions with a grin.

"Her strength is inhuman too. My ribs still hurt from a few years ago," Colin leaned over to Cassil's ear, "The only one in the village to have ever defeaten the 'beast' is your dad. It's like watching two animals fighting."

Cassil chuckled at the last comment.

"We're set to go," Link finally announced, "Are you ready Cassil?"

"Um, yeah, just give me a second, I have to change."

"Change?" Ilia asked, "Change into what?"

"You'll see," Link replied.

A couple minutes later, Cassil came back outside wearing Hylian clothing, or to be more precise : Link's clothes from when he was younger.

"Um… Why, exactly do you need clothes?" Colin wondered.

"He was fine with nothing on…" Ilia mumbled under her breath, only capted by Link's extra-sensitive ears, another feature that stayed from his wolf form.

"Well, you see, I thought, no actually, I _am_ really noticeable like this," he said as he showed then his skin tone and glistening orange hair, "So I thought that I'd change, all the way."

"How are you supposed to change your skin?"

"Observe."

With the snap of his fingers, Cassil started to spin as a dark cloud surrounded him. When he finaly stopped spining, before their eyes, was a young Hylian. His waist long blond hair was tied up in his back with leather strings, a few strands escaping in the front, his slightly taned skin matching his father's and his now green eyes shimmering in the morning sun. Ilia's face turned slightly pink, but not because of the alcohol. Her two friends noticed it and a smile grew across their face.

"Aaaaa-nyway," Link laughed, "It only takes less than an hour to get to the castle, so I guess we should get going if we want to get there before dark."

Cassil raised a brow.

"Sure thing dad. Anyways, see you guys soon!"

With that said, the two young men galloped off into the forest, Link steadily seated on Epona and Cassil on Fado's best black stallion, Abyssus. Link looked over his shoulder as he waved goodbye one last time and as soon as the horses finished crossing the bridge, he set off into a gallop. Cassil was surprised at the sudden boost and almost fell of his horse.

"AHH! Dad, wait!"

Link brought Epona to a slow strut and burst out laughing when he saw his son halfway towards the ground.

"It's not funny…" Cassil mumbled between his clenched teeth.

"Actually, it is. Why didn't you tell me that you didn't know how to ride?"

"I do, but it took me by surprise when you just set off like that with no warning. Why are you in such a rush if it only takes less than two hours to get to the castle town?"

"Because I need something."

"What do you _mean_ something?"

"A weapon."

"Don't you already have enough, I mean seriously, how many does a guy need?"

Link chuckled.

"You have no idead, Cassil. But this one is the most important, it's _my_ weapon: the Master Sword."

"Master what?"

"The Master Sword," Link said as he arched an eyebrow, "You know, the sword that can destroy any kind of magic, the sword that brought Ganondorf to his death."

"Oh! That sword! Sorry, I've never been good with names," Cassil replied as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Then why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Well, you see, it happens to be in the Sacred Grove and to access it I have to pass through the lost woods, which Ilia hates me going there. So I didn't want her to get all worked up more than she already was."

Link stopped Epona as did Cassil with Abyssus when they reached then Forest Temple. He dismouted her an took of a rope from her saddle.

"Sorry girl, if I could take you with me I would," he said as he pat her nose.

He got a snort in return, making him smile. When they reached the entrance of the Lost Woods, Link came to a halt and Cassil almost walked right into him.

"What's wrong, dad?" he asked worried.

"Who were those people, Cassil?" Link said gravely.

"Who?"

"Dark Link's minions."

"Oh, um… I don't know who they are, sorry."

Link frowned with a sigh.

"It's okay, it's not your fault."

He started to advance but Cassil did not.

"But I know what they are."

This made Link come to a halt.

"Go on…"

"Well, this is only a rumour really, but mum said that it was mostly true from what she could tell. You know the past of our people right?" Link nodded, "Well some of us still craved for the power of the Triforce when they felt it's energy when you came and well, they had to be exiled, which I think is weird, you know being exiled from an exiled place. Anyway, but some of them returned to the Twilight Realm, seven of them to be precise, and tried to take over the throne but mum executed them on the spot as soon as they set foot in the Royal Chamber. But some idiot decided to bring them back to life and made them stronger so that they could be Dark Link's minions, who is Akuma's right arm."

"Who's Akuma?"

"The idiot, the one that started this whole war," Link crossed his arms, nodding once more, "Or at least we think he's the one who did… Anyway, Akuma is the name that my people gave him, we don't know what it really is, not that it's important."

It became quiet, only the sound of the wind blowing in the leaves could be heard, neither of them moved for a moment then Link finaly broke the silence.

"I have another question: how come I was able to go into th Twilight Realm without a key?"

"Well, technically, you went in with neither the key or a portal. That was really dark magic that only a few Twili practiced. I still can't figure out how Dark Link managed to use it, since he's not one of us."

"We can figure that out later, but why can't I just go back?"

"Because you can't, unless you want to die of course, but I don't think you do. A Hylian, or just a human for that matter, can only use it twice in a year without damaging his or her body: once to go and once to come back."

Link grunted discontently.

"Anyhow, we should get going," he said as he walked into the darkness, "Oh, and you might not want to wander off to far, unless you want to turn into a monster that is, but I don't think you want that now do you?"

Cassil tensed as his father walked into the darkness. _Turn… into… a monster? How can… How can that be possible?_ An owl hooted, making him jump back to reality. His eyes looked about, cherching his father, not seeing him nor any other life form but the owl.

"D-Dad?" he stuttered, "Dad, wh-where are you?"

"HOOT!"

"AHH!" he cried as he ran into the woods without a second thought.

He ran and ran until he bumped into a massif tree — which did not take very long —, bathing in a halo of pure white light. It looked too beautiful to be true, somewhat like a dream. It looked like there was no bark on it, just a marbled surface. His hand held out to touch it and when it made contact with the tree, he felt a jolt of energy shoot right through his veins, making pull back his hand in an instant.

"Amazing, isn't it?" he heard a familiar voice ask.

"Yeah, it is," Cassil answered, almost in a daze, "What is it?"

He saw a head lean over the edge of one of the branches of the immense Weeping Willow beneath his fingers.

"Legend says that this tree was once the Great Deku Tree, the Father of Hyrule's forest. He used to be the protector of thousands of young children called the Kokiri, children that never aged no matter how much time passed. It is also said that once the Great Deku died of a curse placed on him by the Evil king himself, Ganondorf, the Kokiri tried to resurect him using fairy magic but instead ended up catching the curse. Because of that, they turned into Koroks, little humanoid trees, somewhat like deku scrubs, then they eventually turned into real trees, creating this sacred forest."

Cassil looked around him, admiring the trees. _To think that most of these old trees were once human…_ He heard his father sigh then the sound of him jumping down, landing as gracefully as a feline.

"If you look close enough, you can make out the blissful expressions they had when they became a part of Mother Nature," he put is arm around his son's shoulders, "I'm not sure if this next part is true or not, but Zelda believes that the Great deku was a Hylian in his past life, well before he turned into a tree that is. That he was a lone traveller deprived of food, with the purest of heart in that time of war, one of the few Hylian's who coul not hurt a fly unless someone dear to him or his life was in danger. She also said that from what the spirits of her ancestors have told her, that the Goddesses thought that it would be a shame to lose such a man, and they did the one thing they coul to save him: turn him into a tree."

"That's… wow…" Cassil did not know what to say, nothing that exceptional ever happened in his world, not that he would of expected it from an exiled tribe.

Link tapped his son a the back, pulling him from his reverie.

"Enough about history, we need to get going."

No matter how many trees they passed by, Cassil never got tired of them. They were all so beautiful and it looked as though they all had their own personality, which was understandable based on what his father told him mere minutes ago. These woods had a magical feel to them but not because of the legend, just because of the serenity, the gentle sounds of the waterfalls, the ruslting the leaves made when a cool breeze drifted between the trees.

As his green eyes admired the beauty of it all, he saw a dark shadow run past one of the archways. Without thinking, being as curious and reckless as he was, his feet automaticaly paced him forward.

"Hello?" he posed quietly, "Is anybody there?"

Something in his guts told him that he was being watched, and he didn't like it. He kept on looking forward, convinced that there was someone there. Just as he was about to call out again, he felt the shadow pass behind him, but when he turned around the first thing he saw was more trees, _only_ trees. His head twisted and turned, his eyes growing wider by the second.

"Where the hell did the road go?!" he panicked.

A chuckle came from behind him and he saw a pair of yellow eyes, and underneath them a wooden smile.

* * *

Link sighed. _This is taking forever. It was so much easier when I could just teleport to the Grove…_ He stretched his arms above his head with a yawn.

"Hey, Cassil, do you mind if…" he started but did not finish when he son was nowhere to be seen, "Cassil? Cassil! Damn it where did that kid run off to now?"

He looked about, hoping that his son just got a bit tired and fell behind. _This is useless…_

"AHHH!" he heard his son scream at the very top of his lungs, making birds fly away.

_That came from…_ A sigh escaped his throat as he walked towards the Sacred Grove and when he reached it, the sight beofre him did not surprise him. _When is that imp ever going to learn…_

His son was dangling in midair by his feet, kicking and punching in random directions, trying to fight iff the things hat were holding him.

"Let me go, let me go, let me GO!" he said as he gave the final kick to the one on the right, falling head first to the ground, "AHH!"

Link put his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. Cassil's head slowly came up, bobbing from side to side, diziness apparent in his eyes. The young Twili slowly got up to his feet and saw his father in the distance.

"Dad!" he shouted, immediately running towards him.

The things saw him move and flew towards Cassil, Link sighed and took his bow off his back, aimed and fire four arriws at once, each of them killing their target. Cassil, who fell to the ground when he saw the projectiles coming his way, looked up from the ground and saw his father smiling, holding out his hand to help him up and he took it without hesitating.

"What were those… those _things_?" he asked still a little shaken up.

"Puppets."

"Puppets? Who was controlling them?"

Link smiled.

"You can come out now. There's no one here but us."

Cassil heard something move from behind him, and when he turned around he regretted, coming face to face with a creature that looked humanoid, but had no flesh, or bones for that matter. Skull Kid gave a wide grin, showing his pointy teeth.

"We had an agreement, Skull Kid," Link dropped.

"Tee-hee-hee," he chuckled way too high for a young _boy_,"I know, but it's been so long since the last time you came to play with me."

"It's only been two weeks."

"Yes, but the deal was that I would stop attacking people with good hearts who enter this forest if you came to play with me once a week. So you broke your side of the deal too, no?"

Link sighed.

"There were…" he looked at his son with a faint smile, "Some complications and it slipped my mind. Just too tell you, I won't be able to come every week for a while, something has come up in the other dimension."

"A war I'm guessing?" he took Link's silence as a yes and sighed as he waved his hand, opening the way to the Grove, "Here, I'm also guessing that you'll be needing that so…"  
Link smiled.

"Thanks, Skull Kid. Cassil?"

"Huh, oh yeah."

They both waved Skull Kid goodbye as he disappeared into thin air before saying.

"Tee-hee-hee, there have been some weird creatures wandering the forest lately, looking for something, something powerful from, what I heard. I'd be careful if I were you."

Link came to a stop and turned around as quickly as his body allowed him.

"What? Who?" no answer came, making a frown appear on his face, "Skull Kid! Tsk, damn imp…"

"Dad?" Cassil hesitated, "Who was that kid?"

Link was still looking for the wooden boy and sighed, his shoulders tense. He tried to cool down, taking in deep breaths. Completely calmed down, he turned around to smile at his son.

"That _kid_, is what you'd look like if you got lost in here. Well, either him or one of his puppets."

Cassil gulped as a shiver ran up and down his spine. Just the thought of becoming… _that_ made him feel nauseous. Link chuckled at his son's reaction and came to a halt.

"This is the Sacred Grove," he stated.

"Fi-na-ly!" Cassil sighed, "It feels like that took forever!"

"Actually, I sort of lied earlier…"

Cassil grabbed his father by his arm to turn him around so that he could glare deeply into his blue eyes.

"What do you mean, _lied_?" he asked bitterly.

"The Master Sword isn't in the Grove anymore because to many people could find it."

"What do you mean too many people?!" Cassil cried as he threw his hands over his head, "If anyone would want to find it, they'd have to go through the Lost Woods for crying out loud! Do you honestly think that a great number of people would succeed?"

"I was refering more to Ganondorf's minions, or in this case Dark Link and those other Seven."

"Oh… Why didn't you say so sooner?" Link rolled his eyes, "Soooo, if it's not here, where is it?"

"Come, I'll show you," he said as he waved his hand.

I don't see a temple around here… What the hell is he talking about? Link gestured him up the broken stairs and he did as he told him too, but the only thing he found when reached the top was a broken door, still in it's frame, no wall around it.

"And how exacly is this supposed to help us?"

Link chuckled.

"Push it open."

Cassil's eyebrow arched as is hand slowly reached out for the door, gently pushing it open. His eyes grew wide at the sight before him. A hidden temple was beyond those doors, everything was exactly as outside, except that it wasn't in ruins, it was still in perfect condition. His foot automaticaly stepped forward, bringing him through the archway. Then they both saw it: the Master Sword, resting in it's rightful place, across the Guardian Statues, at the entrance of the Temple.

* * *

"Fi-na-ly!" Cassil exclaimed, "That felt like it took forever!"

Link groaned.

"I can't believe the Guardians made me redo that game…" he mumbled.

"Ah, cheer up dad. I mean, look at the bright side: you got your Master Sword, those statues got to play their silly game abd I got to see a sacred temple that only few living eye have seen. We all win in the end."

Cassil kept on walking, even though his father stopped and was now trying to burn holes through his head with his eyes. Slowly trying to peak over his shoulder, a hand slapped him upside the head.

"Itai!" he yelled as he rubbed the bumb growing where his father hit him, "What the hell was that for?"

"You do know that all of the things you just said are al related, eh?"

"Of course I do. I'm not that much of an idiot…"

"Alright then," Link said as he crossed his arms, "How?"

"Um, well, the Guardians got to play and I got to see the Temple Of Time because you needed the Master Sword… right?"

"No, not quite," Link answered with a groan, "You got to see the temple since I needed my sword, correct, but because you entered a sacred place, the Guardians made me do that stupid mind game gain because thay wanted to make sure that I wasn't an imposter! So tell yourself that every single time that I was almost crushed by them, it was _your_ fault!"

"Oh, yeah, I remember… Man that was funny," his father glowered at him, "Ok, mabe not…"

Another deep groan escaped Link's throat as they crossed the tree bridge.

"So, I guess our next stop is –"

Link put his arm in front of Cassil, putting a finger in front of his mouth, showing him to be quiet, hen pointed in front of them. The Twili's brow raised as he followed the finger, only making his eyes grow wide.

Only a few feet away from them were two great cats, devouring the remains of whatever creature they came upon in the woods. But something about them was off, the way they were sitting was, humanlike, and they were not eating over the carcass, they were holding pieces of it in their paws that looked strangely like fingers with claws.

"What are they, dad?" Cassil whispered.

"I don't know Cassil. I've never seen anything like them in these woods before."

"Wait a second, don't tell me that…"

"Yeah, they're probably the creatures Skull Kid was talking about," Link looked behind them, "Listen to me carefully Cassil unless you want to alarm them, okay?"

He saw him nod from the corner of his eye.

"We're going to slowly back up and when were far enough, I'll signal you to run for it, understood?"

Cassil nodded again and he slowly crept backwards, not taking his green eyes off the beasts. Making sure not to step on his so's feet, Link slowly did the same. The plan was perfect… at least it would have been if a twig didn't happen to end up under Cassil's boot. They both froze, ready to defend theirselves, but they did not move, nor did they seem to notice the sound that broke the silence.

A sigh escaped both of their mouths but regretted it as _that_ alarmed the felines. _We've whispered, stepped on a branch and _this_ is what sets them off?_ Link thought as he pushed his son behind him.

"Uh, Dad…"

Link slowly took his sword out of it's scabbard and positioned himself in a fighting stance.

"Not now Cassil, I've got to get rid of these guys."

"Um, yeah but…"

"Cassil, please be quiet."

Link pointed the Master Sword in front of him, trying to make the beast back off. It was not quite the reaction he was expecting, but they stopped dead in their tracks as they looked from the sword to him. Then out of nowhere, they started… laughing? _What the hell is going on…?_

"Cassil, back up, we have to get out of here," he said as the felines started to advance once more, "Cassil?"

Link briefly looked over his shoulder only to find his unconscious son being pinnned down to the ground by another beast, but this time it was a bit smaller than the others. Anger boiled in the botton of his gut, his eyes glowing with fury. Swiftly turning around, he slashed the creature in the face, but only barely as it's reflexes were better than he expected. He put his sword behind him, crouched down and lauh himself into the air.

"HYAH!"

The blade was about to slice through the feline, but instead a new one tackled him, making him bang into the wall. When he eventually fell to the ground, his vision became blurry and he lifted his hand to his face. When he removed it, there was blood all over it.

_Damn it, I hit my head pretty good…_ Four figures gathered around him, uncounsciousness slowly consuming him.

"Damn it, not again…" he muttered.

"We finaly found you, Hero," one of them said.

* * *

"AHHH!" Link woke with a start.

"AHHH!" a familiar voice screamt, "Damn it Beansprout, don't scare me like that. You almost this old fart a heart attack."

Link groaned as he sat up, his head throbbing. _Why does my head _always_ get hit… Its like I have a curse or something…_

"Hardly… As if an adult in his twenties, a healthy one at that, could have a heart attack," he smiled, but it fell, "My name's Link, by the way. You know I hate it when you call me that," he said with a light glare directed at the man in front of him.

"Yeah, but my name's not Master but you still call me that, now don't you?"

Arms crossed and lips pouted. They looked exactly like children when they don't get what they want. Still looking at each other, their faces slowly broke into smiles and they burst out laughing.

"Man, I can't take you seriously with that cute look on your face, it doesn't suit you, _Beansprout_," the man winked at Link.

"Ha-HA… not funny. And do you think it's easy for me too take _you_ seriously with that stupid look, _Master_."

The man growled.

"Uh-oh…" Link thought out loud as he slowly walked away from the angry man, "Um, I gotta go so… later!"

That said, Link jumped onto a young Epona and immediately set off into a fast gallop.

"BEANSPROUT! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" the man yelled.

Link did not bother to look back, only concentrating on getting home, not that it would help him much since they lived togetherm but he had to try something. Just as he was about to think about another hiding spot where he might be safer, an arrow shot right past him, missing him by less than an inch. A shiver ran from the back of his neck to the bottom of his feet and then he heard hooves trampling the forest floor, coming his way.

"Beansprout! Come here so I can kill you!" a oh so familiar voice belowed in a oh so familiar tone.

"Why would I do that?!"

"So that I won't have to kill you some other time!"

"That makes no sense!"

"Like I give a damn! Just come here so you can die quickly and painlessly!"

Before Link knew it, the young man was galloping right beside him, pointing an arrow with perfect precision, ready to launch it.

"Ahhh!" Link ducked, again, this one missing him by a hair, "Alright, alright already! I'm sorry! Just stop trying to kll me!"

"Not a chance Beansprout!" he shouted as they crossed the birdge.

"Argh! You're such an idiot, you know that !? You telling me not to call you master but you won't stop calling me Beansprout! How is that fair?"

"So what? I'm the adult here, I can do whatever I want!"

"Tch! Barely, look how immature you're acting right now!"

They raced past the spring.

"There's no one else to see but you and besides, you'll be dead in a minute! So it doesn't really matter now does it, _Beansprout_?"

Link's face became re with anger.

"Master! _Master_! _MASTER_! _**MASTER**_!"

"Why you little —"

They dashed past their house.

"Boys, slow down!" Ilia screamed.

"Huh?" they both said but before they got an anwer, the two of hem flew in the air as their horses came to a halt, bucking them right off.

"AHHH!"  
_SPLASH!_  
Both laughter and gasps could be heard from the surrounding villagers. Ilia came running towards them.

"Damn it!" Link hollered.

_Oh no, not again…_ they all thought.

"This is all your fault!"

"_My_ fault!? You're the one that started all this by calling me Master!"

"Isn't that what you are idiot?"

"Beansprout!"

"Master!"

"_Beansprout!"_

"_Master!_ And if I recall correctly, you're the one who called me Beansprout first!"

The man opened his mouth to reply, but no sound what so ever came out.

"Oh yeah, I did didn't I…" he said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

The villager's eyes rolled to the sky.

"But still," a mischevious grin appeared on his lips, "That won't stop me from doing this!"

That said, he pushed a wide-eyed Link back into the waterbed, taking the villagers by surprise.

"Pfwa!" Link coughed, "Well on thing's for sure," he coughed again, "My lungs won't be thirsty for a while."

His Master smiled, lending him a hand. Link glared at him, making him roll his eyes.

"Just take it already, I won't push you back in, I promise."

Sighing, Link grabbed the man's hand and was soon lifted up to his feet. Ilia fnaly came closer to them and slepped the older man upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" he asked.

"Apologize, now," she said with a threatening tone.

"For what?" he asked, totally unphased by the menace.

"Just do it or I'll hit you again."

"Fine…" he turned towards the short blond, "I'm sorry, Link. For whatever I did that wasn't appropriate."

That earned him a whack.

"Hey!"

"Ne, I guess that was better than nothing," she said, raising her shoulders.

The young man rubbed his arm, giving a stunning smirk to Link. That made the blond smile and throw himself at his Master, holding him in a strong hug. That took the older man by surprise – everyone actually – and he finaly, but hesitantly put his arms around him too. _That's odd, he usualy —_

"But still," Link finly said, raising his eyes, "That won't stop me from doing this…"

"Huh? What was that Link?"

As soon as those words left his lips, he felt as though he was falling forward, towards Link, towards the water.

"Um, Link, we're going to fall," no response came and instead the arms around him tightened, "Link, let go! AHH!"

_SPLASH!_

They both fell deep into the water, the young man trying to get out of Link's grip, with no success. He gave the blond a warning look and Link mouthed some words, making him think that his mind was playing tricks on him. Finally, he decided to kick the bottom, swimming them to the top, Link still firmly grasping onto him. When they reached the surface, they both gasped for air and Link burst out laughing.

"Damn it, Link! What were you thinking?! Are you trying to kill me? You damn—"

"YOU DAMN IMMATURE BRATS!" a man's voice yelled, making them wince, "Look at what you did to the village!"

Not only did the two boys turn their heads, but all of the other villagers did so too and what they saw was definitely worse than usual : milk bottles were shattered, crops were trampled over, fish caught that very morning were crushed as well as many other things.

"I don't mind your weekly fights so much, boys, but this has gone too far. Link I can understand because he's only 15, but _you_," he said as he pointed the other blond, "You're a grown man. You should know better than to gallop at full speed into the village."

"Sorry, sir, it won't happen again," he promised, lowering his head.

Link felt bad for his Master, it was not entirely his fault, he was responsible for most of what happened, but still… He opened his mouth to defend his mentor but the mayor interrupted him.

"As punishement, you'll both spend most of your time helping out the village restore everything," their eyes went wide, "Milking the goats, regrowing the crops as well as catching the same amount of fish that Rusl and Hanch caught this morning. Why don't you start with that since we're supposed to celebrate the birth of the Zora Prince."

"But sir!" Link exclaimed, "What about my training?"

"Training shmaning, you can resume whatever it is you actually do when you're done your labor work."

"But—"

"No buts boys, now get started."

They both groaned at the Mayor's final word, making the Ordonians surrounding them laugh, but that earned them a hard glare from the both of them. Tehir reactions amused the two young men, some of them fled, others froze to the spot and Ilia, well she did like she usualy did: she kept on laughing, rolling her eyes.

* * *

"Gah! I hate this, it's going to take forever!" Link yelled in frustration as he put another fish in the basket, "We've benn here for nearly three hours!"

The older blond did not answer.

"Oi, Master, I'm talking to you," he said with irritation.

"Who's this _Master_ that you speak of, Link?"

"Fine, Sir."

"Ugh… well at least it's a start… I guess. But hey, it's our own fault for being so reckless you know."

"I never said it wasn't, but it doesn't change the fact that it sucks. I've only caught five fish and we're supposed to catch thirty!" Link flopped onto his back and gazed at the clouds, "How many have you—"

"Thirty-six."

"What?! How did you manage to catch so many? And why didn't you tell me six fish ago?!"

"Because it's nice to be here, Link. When was the last time that we just came here to relax, together. We've been so caught up in your training that it keeps slipping our minds," he chuckled, "I think that the worst part though is that we used to come here all the time when you were little, only a sprout," he winked at Link with a smile.

Link's cheeks turned slightly red for some reason, but lucky for him, he was the only one that noticed. His Master was right though, it had been ages since they last went into that private oasis of their's. Well, it was not much of an oasis, but they both enjoyed going into that little area in the back of the village, where no on but them went. It was the perfect place to rest, except that they had to swim to access it.

Link opened his mouth to talk but, once again, he was interupted except that this time it was a shirt thrown in his face. A splash could be heard and when he looked about, the water was rippling, his friend finaly surfacing from the depths. A smile appeared on the man's face just before he turned around to climb the pillar behind him.

As he did, Link's eyes remembered every single little detail of his body: the mouvement of his strong arms pulling him upwards, his drenched hair on his forehead and neck, his perfectly V-shaped back, the abs he occasionaly saw when he swung around to grab onto another ledge. His eyes kept wandering lower and lower and— Link's face turned beet red. _Please tell me I wasn't staring… Please tell me I wasn't staring… Please—_

"Oi, Link. What were you staring at like that?"

_Damn it…_

"The pillar, what else?"

"Who knows," he said raising his shoulders, "And why is your face so red anyway?"

"It's warmer than usual."

A skeptical look appeared in the man's eyes, but he decided to let it go.

"Well, whatever, it doesn't really matter. But you know that not telling me the truth right now is only goig to make me bug you about it later, right?"

"Ugh… Yeah, I know far too well about that," Link mumbled, lowering his eyes.

A smile appeared on the man's face and he stood up, taking a perfect diving posture. Link looked back up at him only to see him gracefuly plunge into the water. When the man surfaced, he came back the ledge where Link was and sat beside him, shaking his blond hair. The young Hylian held his arm up to cover his face.

"Gee, thanks…"

"Speaking of bugging you," the man pretended not to hear Link, "What did you say in the water earlier?"

Link's face turned beet red once again.

"N-Nothing, it's not important…"

"It looked like you said—"

"It wasn't important, alright!"

That said, Link jumped into the water and swam as fast as he could to the village.

"Link! Hey, Link wait up!" the man yelled, "What am I supposed to bring all this fish back!"

No answer came, not that any would have because he was already half way to shore.

"Link come back here!"

Once again, the Hylian did not listen to his Master and ran towards their house. His ruby colored eyes saddened, and his shoulders slumped.

"What did I say…"

* * *

Link gazed at the starry night sky, hands behind his head, a frown on his face. This hobby of his usualy calmed him, but that night he could not relax, no matter what. He tried the hot springs, drinking tea – which he highly disliked – and even meditating, but he was just too tense. In fact, the reason he felt so was because he was angry with himself.

"Why did I have to open my big mouth?" he asked himself, infuriated, "You know that he can read lips easier than anyone. Now what are you going to do, idiot? What if you run away so that you won't have to face the humiliation? No, that won't work, he'll just track me down… Argh ! Why did I have to fall—"

The door slowly opened and the man that occupied Link's thoughts stepped out of the house. A faint blush appeared on his cheeks, but he noticed that not only his, but his Master's too. The man coughed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Um, I have to go to town to get some arrows."

Link nodded. The older Hylian mounted his horse and set off in a gallop, without looking back at Link. But he did yell something.

"I'll be back faster than you know it, Link!"

* * *

"Alright, as soon as he gets home, you're going to tell him to get it out of the way," Link thought, "I mean what's the worst that can happen?"

Similar train of thoughts as this one have been twisting and turning in Link's head for nearly half an hour, basicaly ever since his Master left. He had to convince himself a lot before he actually decided to just spit it out and get it over with. Besides, it was either that or the man harassing him to tell the truth.

Link's head shot up as the sound of horse hooves reached his ears.

"He's home!"

By the time those words left his lips, he was already halfway outside. A smile appeared on his face when he saw his Master's steed approching, but it immediately fell when he noticed that his Master was not on it's back. In a fast yet steady pace, Link walked up to the horse and horro struck every fiber of his body when it fell to the ground, blood seeping out of a horrile gash in the poor things stomach.

He would have taken Epona, but his body moved on it's own, speeding him towards the bridge and across it, through the woods and towards the spring. _If Celes managed to run back home with that wound, then he must be close…_ Just as he finished that thought, not far from him, in the middle of the clearing, right in front of the Light Spirit's Spring, was his Master.

The man raised his eyes from his blood soaken hands to look at the young Hylian in front of him. He reached for him, his broken hand trembling.

"L-Link…" he mumbled, just before falling unconscious.

Link's eyes filled with tears, his whole body shook with fear, with the fear of losing the person dearest to him.

"SHEIK!"

* * *

_Clx_ : Gah ! This chapter wasn't supposed to finish like this , but like I said earlier—  
_Amx_ : sighs They know , you're sorry , now build a bridge and get over it.  
_Clx_ : But—  
_Amx_ : No buts !  
_Clx_ : Hai…


	4. Reopened Wounds

_Clx_ : That was quicker than I thought it would be.  
_Amx_ : Yeah, it's summer, but because we moved we have no social life what so ever, so we have lots of free time on our hands.  
_Clx_ : Yep, so much that I've already writen two whole pages for the next chapter.  
_Amx_ : … It's sad really…  
_Clx_ : Yeah, it is isn't it…?_

* * *

What happened to me?_

"Do you think that he'll talk?"

_Where am I?_

"Of course he will. He has no choice unless he wants the crap beaten out of him."

_Where's Cassil?_

"Yeah, I guess, but he's the legendary Hero. There's no way he won't go down without a fight."

_Oh yeah, that's right, I banged my head on the wall, man that hurt…_

"When is the chief supposed to arrive anyway?"

_And I'm guessing those feline people have taken me captive. Who are they anyway?_

"He's already here; he's in his cave I suppose. As soon as he heard we got _him_, he was back here as fast as lightning."

_Who's this 'Chief' that wants to see me so badly and what does he want with me?_

"Really? Wow, he really wants it doesn't he?"

_Wants what? I don't have anything that's his… I think._

"Yeah, well I don't blame him. After all, he really wants to get rid of Ganondorf and—"

"GANONDORF!?" Link shouted, but soon regretted it, _Shit…_

Hooded head after hooded head turned around to look at him, the bright yellow eyes in the shadows glaring at him in surprise and disgust from what Link could see. They all turned around swiftly, walking towards the Hero. One of them grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up. _So, they aren't those feline people, then who—_ The same person lifted up his other hand, or rather paw, sharp claws menacingly close to his face. _What the hell is going on?!_

"How _dare_ you speak without Chief Uncia's permission?!"

"Chief who?"

Apparently, Link's words offended the… _thing_ holding him and it slashed across his face, leaving slight cuts on his cheek. Once more, the creature raised its fist that was a paw seconds ago to Link's face.

"Next time it's gonna hurt," he menaced.

"You're gonna have to try hard because all I felt was wind," Link provoked.

"Why you—!" it growled as it raised its fist once more to hit him.

Just as his fist was going to make contact with Link's face, a paw grabbed the aggressor's arm firmly, digging its claws into the skin. It winced and turned around, infuriated, close to being in a killing state.

"Who dares to—!" he froze; his eyes grew wide with surprise and fear, "Ch-Chief?"

"That's quite enough, Liknade," he said calmly, tightening his grip, "We wouldn't want to hurt our guest of honor, now would we?"

"N-No, Sir. Not at all Sir."

"Now then, do you mind letting him go?"

"Y-Yes, Sir," he blurted, immediately letting go of Link.

As soon as Liknade's arm fell to his side, the Chief let go of his other, letting him tend to his wounds.

"So you're the bastard who ordered these idiots to capture my son and me?"

At those words, many of the people surrounding him dashed towards him, ready to punish him for his insolence, but Uncia raised his arm with a frown, making them all come to a halt then he lowered it when he was sure they were all calmed down.

"Yes, that would be me," he replied in a deep voice, clearly angered by Link's disrespect.

"Where's my son?" Link asked, still irritated, "Why do you need me so much that you had to capture me? I probably would've come at my own will."

Uncia looked at one of his men and motioned him with his head to bring Link's son forward. The man nodded and pulled out from behind him Cassil. He was mostly unharmed from what Link could see: a few scratches and bruises here and there, but overall he was fine. The man tossed Link's son in front of him, adding another bruise to his skin. They all laughed at Cassil as he tried to get up with no success until Link leaned over to him for leverage. _There not going to be laughing when they untie me…_

"Are you ok?" the Hylian whispered, "If they hurt you…"

"I'm fine, Dad," he said convincingly with a smile, "the only thing that's bothering me are these ropes."

"Hey, do you think you could untie us? If it's not too much to ask."

Uncia groaned and motioned one of his men to untie them.

"WAIT!" voice yelled.

They all turned around to look behind Uncia, Link and Cassil included. Not far from them was a great Lion, standing on its two hind legs. _What the hell is going on?_ Link and Cassil thought.

"What is it Mage Maxen?" the Chief asked, his calm voice back.

"It would be very unwise to detach those two, Chief Uncia," he replied serenely.

"And why would that be?"

"Because the Hero does not intend on cooperating with us and his son neither as a matter of fact. He was going to grab your Royal throat as soon as his hands were to be freed."

"Royal?" Link mocked, "I don't see a throne, or even jewels."

Uncia sighed, annoyed by Link's words. The mage gasped.

"How dare you insult Chief Uncia of the Relix so?!" he shrieked.

"That's all he's been doing," a cougar nearby growled.

"Wait, hold up," Link said, "Who're the Relix?"

"It's insulting, isn't it father," a young stripped boy said, "No, it's sad actually, for a servant of Hyrule's Queen not to know who we are."

"I'm not her servant," Link stated.

"Then what are you? A good friend who goes around doing her errands?"

"More or less," Link smiled, "I do it if I want, not if she asks me too."

"Heh, I still think it's sad though, being so close to Zelda and all."

"Streifen, do not speak the Queen's name here," Uncia spat, "Saying it gives us bad luck."

"Sorry father."

"Why is Zelda's name bad luck?" Cassil asked, joining the conversation.

A few of the hooded figures winced at the name, but Chief Uncia remained unphased.

"Because of what her mother before her did to our people," a spotted woman said, "We've been living in misery since that witch banned us from the kingdom."

"Why did she banish you?" Link asked.

She looked at the Chief, as if for permission to tell him and he nodded.

"Go ahead daughter, he needs to know about us anyway," she looked unsure, "Laivy, it's ok."

She nodded and walked towards Link.

"Our people as you've probably noticed aren't normal humans."

"Yeah, it's kind of hard not to notice," Link chuckled, "Especially when one of you raise claws to my face."

Laivy smiled and sat in front of Link, making a few of the soldiers take hold of her arm, but she just shook them off.

"You're being too careless Laivy, he's the enemy."

"No, Viuri, you think that everybody who pisses one of us off is the enemy," she rolled her eyes, "And besides, this young man's a gentleman. He has no reason to hurt me so he won't, right?" she asked Link.

He nodded and Viuri backed off.

"As I was saying, our people aren't normal humans, we're hybrids: half Hylian, half great cat," she said as she waved her leopard tail in front of Link, "Our people, with a lifespan twice yours, where created by the Great Deku tree, father of this forest. 'To bring peace between Hylians and Beasts,' those were the words that he said to our first Chief. 'Live as beasts for a few days, experience the feel of always being watched, always being hunted, then go forth to the Queen of this land and explain every single detail you can remember,' and that's what he did with the rest of the people. When the queen found out, she who was already against hunting them, made a law that stated that everyone who would hunt a great cat in her land was to be banished. That day forth, the Relix lived in the castle town as much as in the forests, in harmony with the Hylians," she finished with a smile, as if remembering something important to her.

All of their expressions turned to hurt and hatred and Link had a bad feeling about what she was going to say next.

"But a few years ago, when I was merely your age, a child, when Ganondorf made his first appearance in our forest, he bestowed a curse upon the ones who tried to stop him from invading Hyrule. 'Filthy half-breeds,' he said, 'Your species should have never existed in the first place. To bring peace between Hylians and Beasts, like that could ever truly work out.' At first, the cursed ones felt no change, no bad luck, no severe sicknesses, nothing. Although, a few weeks after that day, some of them started to have a larger thirst for blood than before, so large that they would look at the villagers like they where only meat, but they resisted the temptation to pounce on them.

"When they returned to the forest, they talked about it to my father and they immediately went to see Mage Maxen for a cure, but in vain. The potion he handed to them only seemed to make it worse: they became blood thirsty, aggressive beasts, beasts based on pure instinct. One day, they went on a rampage, killing the ones of us who tried to protect the Hylians, but it was no use, both sides lost many people.

"When it was finally finished, when all of them had been put in cells in the castle dungeon or beheaded, my father, my mother, my brothers and I went forth to the Queen, to explain to her that it was all caused by a curse Ganondorf placed upon them. She did not want to hear a word of what we had to say. No matter how many times we repeated to her that we both many people, people that we loved and cared for, she shook her head and banned us from her land."

A few women wiped away their tears, tears caused by reopened wounds Link and Cassil guessed. They both felt sorry for them, if only they had known, they would have been les hostile.

"That's why some of us despise Hylians, because of the actions of the previous Queen."

"Not to be rude or anything," Link started, "But why are you in this forest if you were banned?"

"The Great Deku Tree brought us here," a feminine voice answered.

The Relix kneeled, and then a slim White Tiger, standing on its hind legs, with no clothing came forth. Link and Cassil were in awe. She looked exactly like a female Hylian, but with cat traits, fur and a tail.

"That's my mother, Nivera," Laivy whispered to the boys, "In the Relix's true form, but we can also look like Hylians or felines."

They nodded.

"Actually, the Great Deku Tree guided me here," she Nivera said, motioning the others to stand up, "He spoke to me through a dream. He told me of the sacred place where our people were born, a place where we could never find again."

"The Lost Woods," Link understood.

She nodded with a smile and leaned down to untie Link, motioning Laivy to do the same with Cassil. Once they were free, they stood up, rubbing their wrists.

"Uh, not to be disrespectful or anything," Cassil finally said, "But can you tell us why you need my dad, we're kind of in a hurry."

"Alright," Uncia replied, "I'll be blunt with the both of you: we need the Master Sword."

"What?!" Link exclaimed, "Why would you need the Master Sword?"

"To defeat Ganondorf."

"Heh, sorry to disappoint you, but I already killed him."

"What!" the mage yelled, "Th-That's impossible!"

"No, it isn't, I did it four years ago. If you don't believe me, Zelda witnessed it all, she even helped me."

"Lies! All lies I say!"

"Say what you want, it's true," Cassil interrupted once more, "If it wasn't true, my mother, the Queen of the Twilight Kingdom, would probably be dead right now, and me inexistent."

"Then how come we could still feel his evil magic?" Nivera asked calmly.

"I don't know, but maybe his soul survived somehow and implanted itself in someone else's body."

They all fell silent, their eyes grew wide with understanding, then to pure hatred, especially in the Chief's eyes. Link could feel that something bad was going to happen to one of them. As soon as that thought passed his mind, Uncia launched himself towards Cassil.

"Watch out!!" he yelled.

Too late, Uncia grabbed ahold of Cassil's throat, his claws digging into his skin, slowly raising him up. His now bright yellow eyes turned to Link.

"You took something precious from me," he growled, "Now I'm going to take someone precious from you!"

"Wait! What are you talking about?! I didn't do anything to you or your people!"

"Because of you, my son was taken from me!"

"What?! I didn't even know you people existed before today! How could I have taken your son?"

"D-Dad…" Cassil chocked.

Too fast for the Relix to act, Link put out his hand and using magic that Zelda taught him, the Master Sword came to him and he put a deep gash across Uncia's arm, forcing him to drop Cassil. Link then threw himself on the ground to catch his son. Cassil was still conscious and breathing, but barely, so much that he as turning back to his true Twili form. Remembering that he had a red potion in his pocket, he took it out and gave it to his son, instantly healing him. Cassil opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

"What just happened?" he asked confused.

Link chuckled but frowned as soon as he heard the Relix's unsheathing their swords and stood up, pointing the Master Sword at them, ready to fight them all if necessary.

"What was the meaning of that?" Link asked infuriated, "I was so naïve to think that I could trust you people."

"Please Uncia," Nivera started, "Blood does not need to be shed."

"Shut up!" he yelled, "He should be punished for taking our Zeigen from us!"

"Can somebody please tell me what you're talking about!?" Link shouted, infuriated.

"Like you said," Laivy mumbled, "You killed Ganondorf, I believe you on that, I think we all do now, because that's when his magic took possession of my brother, but now that you said something about his soul," she sighed, "They blame you for not getting rid of him properly, thus his soul taking over Zeigen's body."

"Wh-What?" Link blurted.

"My son started acting oddly a few years ago, around the time you said you vanquished Ganondorf, and has vanished for three weeks now, craving for power and saying that the Dark Lord was finally reborn."

"That's around the time that the Evil King appeared in the Realm," Cassil breathed, eyes wide.

"That's where we're headed anyway, so I promise I'll bring back your son and kill Ganondorf for good," Link promised, motioning him son to follow him, "We're leaving now."

"No," Uncia said firmly.

Link came to a halt, Cassil almost bumping into him.

"What do you mean, no?" he said facing the Chief.

"You're not leaving my village yet, you haven't given us the Master Sword yet."

Link sighed.

"Man is that guy ever persistent," he said to himself, "Look, I can't give you sword. If you want me to get rid of Ganondorf I kind of need it."

"You weren't even able to kill him the first time," Viuri snorted, "What makes you think you can this time?"

"Because I'll have more help than before," he said looking at Cassil, "Even I, the Hero of Time, can't defeat the Dark Lord by myself. And besides, even if I did give you the Master Sword, I'm the only one who can wield it, besides my blood relatives."

"Wait, I can use it?" Cassil asked, amazed.

"I'd prefer you didn't, but in case anything happens to me, I'm not saying it will but if it does, 'Only ones that have the Hero of Time's blood rushing through their body can wield it.' At least that's what it said on the stone in the sacred grove."

"Yeah, sure you can," Viuri laughed, "Look how tiny he is. Do you think he's worthy and strong enough to use it?"

Cassil frowned at the insult of the Cougar.

"I say we hold a little contest. What do you think?" Uncia asked.

"I don't need to prove myself to someone unworthy."

"Or is it because you're too chicken?" Viuri taunted.

"What?" he felt insulted again, "Me, chicken? You're kidding right? I'll take anything you throw at me."

"Cassil" Link whispered, "Are you sure?"

"Don't worry Dad, I know what I'm doing."

Everyone gathered around them in a circle, waiting impatiently for the first challenge. The mage approached Cassil and Viuri.

"First we'll have to measure your strength," the Maxen said, looking around, "You see those two boulders over there?"

They both walked up to them.

"Using only one fist, you have to break it into the smallest pieces possible."

"Heh, that's no challenge at all Maxen," Viuri said over confidently, approaching his boulder like Cassil.

Naturally, the Relix chose the larger one, but Cassil tapped him on the shoulder.

"Do you mind if I take that one? The other one's too small," he smiled.

Viuri snorted.

"Whatever, but don't go crying to your dad if you hurt yourself."

Cassil rolled his eyes and switched spots.

"The first one to hit will be Viuri," Maxen announced, "On my count: three, two, one, go!"

"HAAH!!" Viuri shouted, planting his fist in the giant rock.

Cracks formed all around his fist, inching faster and faster towards the edges of the rock, the sound growing louder, but then everything went silent, only the wind could be heard. Cassil felt a breeze go down his spine and frowned.

_CRACK!_

The boulder fell into tiny little pieces, smaller than one of his claws. The cheers overwhelmed their ears, Link and Cassil thought they were going to be deaf after this. Viuri smiled putting his fist to his side, looking at Cassil.

"Try to beat _that_ twerp."

"You used magic," he said bluntly.

"That is permitted," Maxen said, "Using magic in our clan enhances our abilities. Like what Viuri just did is concentrate it all in his fist to become stronger."

"Maxen! Don't tell him how to do it!"

"It's doesn't matter Viuri, it takes years to learn how to do it properly like you."

The Cougar frowned, sighing. Cassil smiled, looking at his hand while he opened and closed it. _He concentrated it in his fist, eh?_

"Next up is Cassil," the Twili took his stance, "On my count: three, two, one, go!"

"HAAH!"

Everyone, including Link, went wide eyed as they felt massive magic pressure and as Cassil's arm went all the way into the rock as easily as if it was water. Large cracks formed a circle around the hole his arm was in but nothing more happened. Cassil frowned and tried to take his arm out, but with no success.

"Uh, Dad… I'm stuck," he mumbled.

All the Relix started laughing madly, especially Viuri. Link sighed and walked up to his son.

"You're right Maxen," Cassil said, "It does take years to do it like Viuri."

"Big surprise," the cougar said between laughs.

Link put his arms around Cassil and pulled him out. As soon as he did, Cassil chuckled.

_CRAAACK!_

The boulder turned to dust before their eyes, the wind blowing it away and they all stopped laughing immediately.

"But," Cassil said with a mocking smile, "It only takes a few seconds to learn it like me."

Now it was Viuri's turn to feel insulted. His power was nothing like Cassil's and he was almost four times his age.

"Th-The n-next challenge is to m-measure your sp-speed," Maxen stuttered, "You h-have to run to—"

"Never mind that," Viuri said with a smile, putting his out to Cassil, "There's no point, he's clearly a better magician than me, so he'll defeat me in everything. I'd prefer not to be more humiliated if you know what I mean."

Cassil was surprised: this Relix who was so hostile and violent minutes ago was holding out his hand to him, with a _smile_ on his face.

"Are you sure Viuri?" Maxen asked.

"Yeah."

Cassil smiled, and shook Viuri's hand. Link could do nothing but smile also, he resembled his mother so much that it was scary, personality wise anyway.

"He's clearly the son of a great magician," Uncia spat, "It doesn't prove anything if he used nothing but magic."

"What are you saying Chief?" Viuri asked surprised, "You and I both know that he barely used any magic, no matter how high his magic pressure—"

"Silence!"

"Uncia, one of your own men is telling you that you're wrong," Link started, "Maybe you should listen to him."

"Who's the Chief here? Me, so I decide what is true."

"What?" Liknade interfered, "That makes no sense!"

"Quiet! No matter, even though we know that the brat is probably worthy enough to hold the Master Sword, it still doesn't mean the Hero of Time is."

"Uh, hello just the fact that it's in my possession means that I'm worthy."

"Not necessarily."

"My Goddesses! What is wrong with you!"

"Nothing, the question is what's wrong with _you_?"

"What the— AHH!" Link yelled in frustration, "Look, you don't think I'm worthy and you are, right? Then why don't finish this with a little duel?"

"You read my mind," Uncia sneered, "Give me a sword!"

Liknade lent him his and another circle formed around the two, but none of the Relix knew who to cheer for: the Hero of Time who as going to bring Zeigen back and destroy Ganondorf once and for all, or their Chief who has been their leader for years and they trust completely.

Link put his hand on the Master Sword, still in its scabbard and pointed Uncia.

"Let's have a clean, uniquely physical match. No magic, understood."

"Yeah, whatever, let's get this over with so you can hand me the Master Sword."

"Heh, as if," Cassil laughed, "My dad is the best swordsman of not only the land of Hyrule, but also the land of Willowpike, Ryholm, Lohynsis, Bysfoh and I'm pretty sure other countries we don't know of yet."

"The best swords_man_ yes, but I'm not a man."

Link sighed.

"Can we just get on with the duel already?"

Uncia grinned and took a fighting stance, firmly holding his sword. He was about to dash at Link, but frowned when he saw that he still had not drawn the Master Sword.

"What are you waiting for?" he demanded with impatience.

"I don't need to take it out yet," Link grinned.

"Dad, what—"

"Don't worry Cassil," he turned around and looked at his son, "I know what I'm doing."

His tone was confident and convincing, but Cassil still felt unsure.

"Overconfidence kills many people _Hero_. Oh well, don't blame me if you die shamefully," Uncia darted towards Link sword raised, "RAHHH!!"

Link did not budge and that only frustrate Uncia even more. The Chief's blade was about to slit across Link's chest, but he dodged it seemingly by a hair. Uncia swung his sword in the air and striked downwards, directly where Link's head was, but once again he dodged it just barely, a smile on his lips. The combat continued like this for a while, Uncia missing his strikes and Link dodging them, causing the Relix Chief to be exhausted. He was panting heavily, but Link just kept smiling, his sword still in its scabbard. A frown appeared on Uncia's face.

"Now you've done it. AAH!!"

Even though he was out of breath, the Chief's legs carried him as fast as they could towards the Hero.

"Mortal Draw," Link whispered.

Finally, the Master Sword was drawn, it spun in the air as Link did with his feet and thrashed his sword in Uncia's neck then put the Master Sword back in its scabbard. Every Relix gasped in horror as the blood spat violently out of their Chief.

"DAD!" Laivy and Streifen yelled, terrified, racing towards their father.

"STAY BACK!" Link shouted, putting his hand in front of the two children.

"But—"

"He'll be fine," he said with a reassuring smile.

Laivy and Streifen stepped back as Link walked towards Uncia, his hand rummaging in his pocket. He kneeled down beside his barely breathing rival and took the cork out of his red potion bottle.

"You know, that blow could have been deadly for you if I would have wanted you dead," he said as he poured the red liquid in Uncia's mouth, "But that was never my intention."

Link put the bottle back in his pocket and walked towards his son.

"We're leaving," he announced.

"I-I… I'm n-not done y-yet…" Uncia muttered.

Link sighed.

"Even if you can manage to get back up on your feet and your wounds have healed as if they were never there, you've suffered major blood loss, so you'll just faint."

"I c-can still f-fight," Uncia persisted.

"No you can't. Just give it up already."

"F-Fine, but I still h-have something to t-tell you."

"What?"

"That was one h-hell of an interesting d-dream you had."

Link went wide-eyed then frowned heavily at Uncia.

"What is he talking about dad?" Cassil asked.

"How do you know about my dream?" he demanded, completely ignoring his son.

"I can read minds that are at rest, in other words I can see your dreams as clearly as you can. Tell me, what was the name of that man?"

"What does it matter to you?!" Link spat.

"Dad…"

"Oh, did I touch a nerve there? I just wanted to know, because well you see, he looked a lot like the Sheikah my men attacked seven years ago."

Link was trembled with anger and his eyes glowed with pure hatred at those words.

"Oh, you mean the one who kept trespassing onto our territory?" Liknade asked, "Man, was he ever hard to get, but I think we managed in the end because with the wounds and the hit on his head he got, he couldn't have gone far."

The Master Sword glowed a fierce red and crimson blood dripped from the hand that held its grip.

"All I have to say is that it was _fun_."

_SPLASH!_

Viuri brought his hand to his face and then stared at it: blood soaked it. He gasped, but there was no wound on his body, but then he looked up at the Relix in front of him and went wide-eyed.

"LIKNADE!" he screamed.

Everyone's attention turned towards the hunter, some gasped, others screamed and several of the Relix either fainted or fell to their knees. The Master Sword was still shinning red, but it showed less since blood covered the whole blade. Link had pierced Liknade right in the stomach. Tears were falling from both his eyes and the dying Ocelot's. The Hylian twisted his sword and Liknade fell to his knees, screaming in agony as he felt his insides being ripped apart.

"He was the only family I had left," Link muttered, "_AND YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME!!_"

He sliced upwards with both his hands, cutting Liknade's upper body in half, ending his life. Cassil's eyes grew wide with fear. He had not known his father very long, but from what his mother told and showed him from her memories, he had never been so infuriated and anguished. The hunter's body fell to the ground and the women squealed with fright and sadness. Viuri was still wide-eyed, frozen to the spot but then he burst and ran towards Link' with his sword raised.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! HOW DARE YOU KILL HIM! AHHHHH!"

"Stay away from him!" Uncia bellowed.

Viuri came to a halt and stared at his Chief.

"Why? Why should I?! He just killed Liknade! He has to pay for what he did!"

"Look at his eyes."

Viuri obeyed and was shocked to see them: his normally sky blue eyes were shining a bright green and it seemed as though the light coming from them was leaking into his tears.

"Now look beneath his feet."

Once again, he obeyed and backed up when he saw that the earth was collapsing beneath him.

"What's happening?"

"Farore's power is taking over him," he said petrified.

For a while, there was a heavy silence, but then the men of the clan started shouting.

"Bring the women to the shelter!"

"It's too late," Link said to himself, "Find every single one of these filthy beasts how laid a hand or weapon on Sheik."

As if it understood, the Master Sword went into the body of a nearby Relix male then came right back out and into another one. More tears escaped Link's eyes.

"_THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH THE HERO OF TIME YOU SAVAGE BEASTS!_"

* * *

A teacup slipped from Zelda's hand and shattered on the ground, making one of the many maids jump.

"Goddesses, what's wrong Your Majes—"

Zelda's eyes were filled with tears and were wide opened. Every fiber of her body shook with overwhelming rage and grief. Her eyes turned a bright blue and a strong wind enveloped her.

"HELP!" the maid shouted, "SOMETHING'S HAPPENING TO THE QUEEN!"

* * *

Blood bathed and bodies littered the soil around the panting Hero. It was surprising at how many Relix attacked Sheik.

"One man against all this filth," he mumbled, "Was there even the slightest chance he could've survived?"

The remaining male Relix took a fighting position around him and he only chuckled.

"As if you could take me on, look around! Most of you are dead or dying, do you really need to see more blood?"

Uncia moved a body from him and stood up.

"You… You _monster_!" he cried, "Look at what you've done! You've killed most of my men, and even some of the women! Ho dare—"

"NO! How dare _you_ kill Sheik?! He was a kind man, a man with a pure and good heart. If you would have told him he was on your territory he wouldn't have come back, he would've left you alone, but you stupidly decided otherwise and attacked him instead!"

Link eyes filled with more tears of fury and grief that streamed down his cheeks in cascades and his grip tightened around the Master Sword.

"You don't know what it's like to lose your mother as a child, to have never met your father because he abandoned you and then when somebody takes you under their roof, a total stranger just passing by, who eventually cares for you and loves you, who would protect you with their life, that person is taking away from you with no mercy from some _stupid Chief_ who made a _stupid decision_!"

Uncia opened his mouth to retort, but it was useless to argue with Link in the state he was and besides, he just realized that what the Hero told him was true: he did not even warn the Sheikah. Cassil was not harmed by his father since he obviously did not injure Sheik, but he was still covered in blood. He had not moved an inch the whole slaughter, he could not have even if he wanted to anyway because his body was paralyzed with fear. His eyes were filled with tears of terror, but mostly anguish for his father. _Who knew that the Hero of Time, the man who saved countless lives over so many years could be so… detrimental in barely a few seconds and that he had such a dark and lonely past. He always seemed so happy, smiling all the time._

Strangely enough, to Link's surprise, Viuri was not part of the ones who hurt Sheik, he who was the best fighter and would do anything for a good fight. The Relix in question stood before him, his claws ready to slice him open.

"The whole time you were slicing and thrashing at my friends," he growled, "You kept calling them monsters, but have you seen what you did? Who honestly looks like a monster now?!"

"Not me," Link answered dryly.

The Hero could see the flames of anger in Viuri's eyes at his response, but he didn't care, that was all they deserved after all. Viuri couldn't take his smartass remarks anymore and he charged at Link in his true form.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

Viuri was about to cut Link's head of but the Hero jumped into the air.

"Helm Splitter," he mumbled.

The Master Sword glowed and as Link twisted in midair, it slashed Viuri's arm right off. As Viuri fell to the ground in excruciating pain, Link gracefully landed on the ground and wiped the Relix's blood off his face. Cassil fell to his knees and put his hands on his head.

"Dad, stop it," he sobbed quietly, "That's enough…"

Link slowly approached Viuri, daring the others to come close with his eyes. Viuri tried to move away but Link pound his boot in his chest.

"Dad, please…"

"This is the end for you, filthy beast," Link said coldly.

He raised the Master Sword in the air and Viuri closed his eyes.

"DAD, STOP!" Cassil cried as he sprint towards his father.

Just before Link's sword reached Viuri, Cassil grabbed onto his arm.

"Dad, pleased stop—"

"Let go of me!" he shouted.

Link's hand slapped Cassil in the face and he flew a few feet further. The Hero went wide-eyed and gasped, letting go of the Master Sword and running towards his son. His eyes became their normal blue again and the sword stopped glowing the bright red. When he reached him, he knelt down and took him in his arms, holding him tightly, more tears escaping.

"Cassil," he sobbed, "I'm so sorry. What kind of a father would hurt his own son."

A faint smile appeared on Cassil's lips.

"It's okay, I'm fine, really."

Uncia slowly crept towards the Master Sword and he picked it up.

"I'm soooo sorry, Cassil. I promise it'll never happen again, ever."

"Dad, it's okay. I'm not— Watch out!"

"Let's see how it feels to die by your own sword, Hero!" Uncia shouted.

When Link turned around, Uncia had the Master Sword raised in the air right over him. It came down faster than Link expected it to and he had no time to move, thus the blade pierce right through his chest.

"DAD!" Cassil screamed in horror.

There was no word for the expression on Link's face, there were too many emotions: pain, sadness, anger, hatred and regret. His eyes fogged over and his head slowly fell down.

"_DAAAAD!!_"

Uncia chuckled, his hand still on the Master Sword.

"Now if you don't mind, I'll be leaving with this."

He was about to pull the Master Sword out of Link, but a hand grabbed the blade, Link's hand grabbed the blade.

"I… don't… think so!" Link shouted as he lifted up his eyes to stare into Uncia's.

Pure shock was plastered on his face, Link's eyes had become a bright green once again. He tried to pull the sword, but Link was holding onto it to tightly. Nobody saw what was going to happen next. Link pushed the sword out of him, pushing the grip into Uncia's stomach. The Chief let go and fell on the ground with a loud thud and Link stood up, the Master Sword in hand.

"Ending Blow," he muttered only loud enough for Uncia to hear.

With a swift jump into the air, Link landed on Uncia, driving the Master Sword between his eyes. He heard three shrieks and turned around towards the Chief's family. Nivera, Laivy and Streifen, they came racing towards Uncia and Link walked towards Cassil who immediately ran up to him.

"D-Dad, I-I thought y-you were d-dead," he said between sobs, "I-I have to treat y-your—"

His eyes went wide and he touched his father's chest with the tip of his fingers, amazed.

"There's no… How can…?"

There was no wound, not even a scratch, only his shirt was ripped.

"The Master Sword cannot harm me," Link finally said, "Whenever it should, the part of the blade that's supposed to harm me turns to light. But this is the first time that I felt so much pain mentally," he chuckled, "Man does it ever hurt to be killed."

"That's not funny!" Cassil cried out, hitting his father on the chest, "I thought… I-I thought…"

"But I'm fine Cassil," he reassured putting his arms around his son, "I'm not hurt."

Link let him cry for a moment. _He's almost seen and experienced more than I did at his age in a few seconds. This is too much for a kid his age, I sometimes forget that even though he looks 18, he's only a kid. The Twili don't age the same way as us Hylians, but still…_ He gently pushed his son away from him to look at his tear filled eyes and only more came out when he saw that he father's eyes were still green, but his smile reassured him. _We have to get out of here before something else happens, fast._ He looked at Nivera, holding her deceased husband's hand, Laivy, crying over her father's body, and Streifen, clenching his fists, and sighed.

"I saved him once," he stated, "I'm not going to do it again. If he wouldn't have tried to kill me in the first place, he wouldn't be in that state and besides, it's too late, he's already dead."

Streifen threw himself towards Link, but his mother grabbed his arm and nodded. He calmed down and went back beside his father. Nivera motioned one of the guards to escort Link and Cassil out of the forest, back to their horses. Reluctantly, they obeyed to their new Chief and walked towards them. As they were about to exit the Relix village, Link came to a halt and Cassil turned around to look at him with a questioning look.

"Dad…?"

"I still intend on keeping my promise," he announced, frowning at his feet, "I obviously still plan on killing Ganondorf," he turned around and looked at the lifeless Chief's family, "And I'm still going to bring your son back, but not for Uncia, for you guys."

* * *

As they galloped through the forest towards the fields of Hyrule, the day started to fall, making them both frown.

"How long were we unconscious anyway?" Cassil asked.

"Far too long by the looks of it," Link replied.

They kept on riding for a while and Link felt a strange felling in his gut.

"We should hurry—" he felt his heart pound once in his chest, so hard that he heard it.

"Dad?"

He looked at his father and alarm appeared on his face. Link's eyes had turned white and he was slowly letting go of the reins. From that point forth, everything seemed in slow-motion. Link slipped off Epona's saddle and Cassil held his hand out to catch him, but his father's hand slipped between his fingers and he hit the ground hard. Epona immediately came to a halt and turned right around to sniff Link's hair, trying to wake him up. Cassil back flipped off Abyssus and ran towards his father, almost tripping a few times. He kneeled down and grabbed Link by his shoulders, shaking him a few times.

"Dad? Dad, wake up! Dad!"

Link groaned and rubbed his eyes.

"Why're you being so noisy?"

Cassil smiled and hugged his wide-eyed father.

"Cassil, are you alright?" he asked as he got up.

"That's my line, your eyes turned white and you fell off Epona!"

"… Huh?"

Cassil backed up and looked in his father's eyes. Unlike when they first exited the forest, they were there normal blue again, not the green that he feared.

"Where are we?" Cassil asked.

"What? Aren't we in the Relix's village?"

"N-No, we're in the fields of Hyrule, on our way to the castle," he replied a little worried.

"What?!"

Cassil nodded.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"I… It's a bit blurry, but I remember being furious with Liknade, but I don't recall why…"

"You… You don't remember… do you?"

"Remember what?"

As Cassil poured them some drinks, he explained everything that happened: from him killing Liknade, to wiping out everyone who harmed Sheik, to slaying Uncia.

"…"

Link did not know what to say. He never imagined that he could be so destructive, especially when it came to taking lives.

"I…" Link lowered his head, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry that you had to see me like that, it's the first time that's ever happened… I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, Dad, really," Cassil reassured.

They both smiled. Link stood up and stretched his arms. He headed towards Epona and jumped on her back.

"We should get going," he said.

Cassil nodded as he mounted Abyssus, looking at his now smiling father. _He'll be devastated and crushed if he finds out that he hit me, it's better he doesn't know… _He smiled at his father and they set off to the Castle of Hyrule, to meet Queen Zelda.

* * *

"Wow," Cassil said as his mouth hit the ground and his eyes went wide.

They were finaly in the Castle Town. Cassil looked around, stands were up and people were running in the streets, performing various tricks.

"It's so much nicer in person!"

Link laughed.

"Well, it isn't usually this lively at this hour of the night, but every year, starting on the Queen's birthday, there's a festival for a whole week to honour her."

"There's never been something like this at home," he said still in awe.

"But sadly, we can't enjoy it. We need to visit Zelda."

"Awww, but why? Just a little bit, pleeeease?"

Link laughed as he rubbed ruffled his son's hair.

"You're such a child," he winked.

"Duh, I'm only twelve years old."

"You are?"

"Yeah, time passes by faster in the Twilight Realm than here."

"Oh, so that's what you ment when you said you aged faster."

"Well, technicaly, we don't age faster because if I grew up here, I'd only be four. But we do live longer and we mature later than you guys. So like I said earlier, maturity wise, I'm twelve, but phsysicaly I'm eighteen."

"…" Link lowered his head, "I'm so confused…"

Cassil laughed.

"No matter, let's go before the guards close the doors."

Link pulled his hood down a little bit and pushed his son forwards.

"So, uh," Cassil said reajusting his hood, "Why are we wearing our cloaks wit our hoods up anyway?"

"So that no one recognizes me."

"You okay, but why me?"

Someone ran past them, bumping Cassil, making him and his hood fall.

"EEEPP!!" a high pitched voice screamed.

Link sighed as he picked him up.

"Because you look too much like me."

"The Hero's here!" the same voice screamed.

"Huh? W-Wait!" Cassil shouted, "I-I'm not the Hero!"

Too late, everyone started racing towards him at full speed with big smiles on their faces, except for one, Link noticed. The hooded figure entered Goron's shop. _What is he planning this time?_ Poor Cassil was still trying to free himself from the crowd with no success.

"What's happened to your hair?" one of them asked.

"You look much younger than the last time you came."

"P-Please, I'm not the Hero," he pleaded.

Link closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the man who left the crowd. Using the remains of his wolf senses, he discarded all sound coming from the town square and located the man. He was moving fast inside of the building. Link rummaged in his pockets to find some string and the other necessary tools.

"You should leave your hair like that!"

"Is that your natural smell or a cologne?"

Link heard a clinging sound then a rigid string stretching. There was no light where the man was, but Link could easily see him.

"Since when are your eyes green? Is that because of your magic?"

"People, please, I—"

"_Everyone get down!_" Link shouted.

All the townsfolks turned towards the hooded figure with questionnng looks. Link threw the side of his cloak open with one arm and from under it he pulled out his bow and one arrow, a bomd tied to the end with his other hand. Seeing someone armed alarmed the citizens and they all ducked out of fear except for Cassil who stood looking at the arrow his father was pointing at him.

"Not the Hero!" one of them shouted.

Then suddenly, Link heard a resonating sound: the string released. Everything happened so fast. Cassil saw a smile appear under his father's hood. The Twili blinked and when his eyes reopened, his father had side-stepped to his side and pointing his bow towards the Goron shop. Cassil turned his head and saw an arrow coming directly towards them. Link grinned and let go of his arrow. It went directly through the other one and Link snapped his fingers just as the bomb went off.

"AHH!!" the man yelled as he fell off the destroyed balcony.

Link lowered his bow and sighed. Everyone stood back up and walked up towards Link and Cassil. Whispers could be heard between them, then they all started to applaud.

"The Hero is saved!" they cheered.

"No I didn't," Link said.

"What are you talking about?" one of them said, "We saw it with our own eyes."

Link sighed and Cassil laughed.

"It's sad that you can't even recognize the Hero from his son," he said as he lowered his hood.

Everyone stopped speaking and kept looking from him to his son. Link motionned his son to follow him and he walked towards the man who tried to kill him. There was a Goron on his knees, holding the remains of the balcony in his hands. Link tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a small sack.

"This should be enough to cover the damages," he smiled."

The Goron looked at him skepticaly, weighing the bag, but when he looks inside it, there was nothing but orange Rupees. Link smiled then started moving some large boulders away to finaly find the man.

"Hello Kanz," he laughed.

The man looked away.

"Uh, Dad… Who's he?"

"He's a guy that totally despises me for some reason and everytime I set foot in the town he tries to kill me. I should have warned you, sorry."

Cassil nodded. Link rummaged in his pocket once more and took the remainder of his Red Potion out with a groan. He opened Kanz's mouth and pourred it in.

"So, how much do you owe me in for all the Red Potions I gave you?"

The man only looked away but Link turned his face back towards him so that he could look at him in the eye. The man was surprised that he was still smiling, but that didn't last long. A fist rammed in the side of his face and he spat blood on the ground.

"You _idiot_!" Link bellowed, "You could've hurt someone else than me in such a big crowd! Like my _SON_!"

The man looked up at Link and walked away without saying a word.

Link inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"Dad?" Cassil asked, unsure.

"Yes?" he replied with a big smile on his lips.

"N-Nothing, never mind…"_

* * *

Clx_ : Kya!! Stupid Relix! I want to kill them! They made me cry!  
_Amx_ : What?  
_Clx_ : When I reread it made me cry! There so mean to poor Link and Sheik!  
_Amx_ : … You've had a few too many drinks, haven't you?  
_Clx_ : What're you talking about? I feel fine. hiccup  
_Amx_ : Right  
_Clx_ : Why did I give Link such a sad past? I'm just as bad as the Relix! Now I have to kill myself!  
_Amx_ : Wowowow! Put down the knife!  
_Clx_ : Fine… Oh hiccup I just remembered, one of my friends asked me today why Link thought that when he slept with Midna (first chapter) it was dreams, the simplest way I can put it is : he thought it was too good to be true… WAHH!! There was so much pain in this chapter!! sobs ans picks up knife  
_Amx_ : PUT DOWN THE KNIFE!!


	5. Shattered Heart

_Clx_ : Wow… this took longer to update than expected…  
_Amx_ : It's your fault for being such a perfectionnist.  
_Clx_ : I'm still not satisfied.  
_Amx_ : It's fine. But being a perfectionnist isn't the only thing, you get distracted _way_ too easily.  
_Clx_ : Hey ! It's not my fault that I was watchingGetBackerschatingwithmyfriendsmakinganAMVsynchingmyiPoddownloadingsongsmodifyingmydesktoppicture takes a deep breath _AND_ writing this chapter at the same time!  
_Amx _: … Wut?  
_Clx _: I have a problem…  
_Amx_ : No question about that.

* * *

"The Queen is just beyond these doors, Hero," a soldier said.

"Please, call me Link," he asked with a smile.

"But—"

"Please, it annoys me when people talk to me as the Hero and not a normal human being."

"O-Ok," he opened the door, "The Queen might be sleeping because today was tiring for her, but she told me to let you in when you arrived, Link."

They both smiled and Link tapped the soldier's shoulder.

"Thanks."

Link motioned Cassil to walk in and he followed him. This was Link's first time actually going in Zelda's room. He had known her for four years now, but he always saw her either sitting on her throne or in the castle gardens. It was an immense room, there was drapery of various colors, but always vine patterned. Fine, long silk curtains towered over one large double king-sized bed where Zelda slept peacefuly. Link smiled as he walked up to the Queen and sat down on the edge of the bed. Cassil only came up to his father, he did not dare sit on the bed since he did not even know the Queen, so he judged that he was not allowed. Link leaned towards Zelda's ear.

"Zelda," he whispered, "Kanz tried to kill me again."

She did not budge and Link sighed. _That usualy wakes her up when she dozes off._ He got an idea. He inhaled and blew gently in her ear.

"Ahh!" she shouted as she jumped up, "I swear to the Goddesses that whoever just did that will—"

"Hello to you too Zelda," Link chuckled.

"Link!" she shouted overjoyed, but then her smile faded and tears filled her eyes, "Link…"

"What's wrong—"

Zelda threw herself at Link and held him as tight as her little arms allowed her to in a hug. She put her face in the crook of his neck and sobbed quietly, clutching his clothes in her fists.

"Zelda..?" Link whispered, "Are you alright?"

He thought he heard her mumble a faint yes. Concerned, he wrapped his arms around her.

"I… I didn't mean to…" she sobbed.

"Didn't mean to what, Zelda?" he asked softly.

Link looked at his son and was surprised to see that his eyes were wide and teary. Cassil quickly whipped them away when he noticed his father saw them, but ti was no use as more came flowing out. _He must've seen what she saw…_ Link thought, remembering that he son could read minds.

"If… If I knew that," she stuttered, "That you suffered so much I…"

"Zelda, what are you talking about?"

She gulped.

"I… I saw everything… everything that happened to you in your past and with the Relix… If I knew—"

Link held her tighter and put his mouth to her ear.

"Don't worry Zelda," he whispered, "You don't need to bear my burdens. I've gotten over the most of them I think, so don't worry about me."

"But you're not alone anymore," Cassil started, "You have Ilia, Colin and now you've also got Zelda and me."

"No matter how strong an idividual is," Zelda continued, "Having to deal with a lot of problems is hard, especialy in your case. You're the Hero of Time, you have so much pressure on your shoulders with all your duties, including the ones I ask of you. Somehow, up until now, you've managed it all. So you think you can do the same with your emotions."

"Zelda, I—"

She put her finger on his lips and looked him in the eyes with a faint smile.

"Promise me this," she whispered, "If you ever need consoling, don't bottle it up and hide it from us, talk about it, please."

"Alright," he promised.

All three of them smiled and Zelda turned to look at Cassil.

"You can sit down if you want to."

"Huh? Oh, uh, thanks," he said rubbing the back of his head, sitting down.

"By the way, Zelda, how come you saw everything I've seen?"

"I'm not sure why, but I have a theory that when Farore posessed your body, Nayru felt the pain the both of you were experiencing, so we connected momentarily, thus letting me witness what was before you and synchronize with your thoughts of the past."

"I see…"

"I wonder if Ganondorf would have seen it also if he were still alive."

"I hope not, but speaking of that demon, I think that his soul is still alive somewhere in the Twilight Realm."

"Yes, I believe so as well from the conversation you had with the Relix. But I don't know how this is possible because I saw him die with my own eyes."

"I didn't want to believe it either, but based on the Hero of Time's legend, the Dark Lord's, or rather Ganondorf's, evil power always seemed to be revied, no matter how many times he was sealed away or killed, so it's not impossible for it to happen again."

"I agree, but he usualy comes back to life several centuries after."

Link sighed.

"Why couldn't he have decided, I don't know, maybe to rest in peace for once and leave us alone?"

Zelda laughed.

"Or are you just too lazy to defeat him again and wish that the next Hero would slay him?" she mocked.

Link scoffed.

"Look who's talking, you're the one who always has others do your errands."

Zelda looked at him in disbelief.

"What? So you'd rather me die than do the tasks I ask of you?"

"If I can sleep in for once yes!"

Zelda through herself at him and they stumbled of the bed, laughing their heads off. They rolled a few times and Link finaly put himself over her, pinning her arms beside her head, wraping his legs around hers, hence putting her in a submissive position. Her cheeks became beet red, making a wide grin appear on Links lips.

"L-Let me go," she mumbled.

"Why should I?" he laughed, "I think it's quite entertaining to see the Princess' face turn so red because of a mere farmer."

"It's Queen, by the way."

"Maybe, but your still a Princess at heart. Just the fact that you through yourself at me to fight is enough proof."

"And your no ordinary farmer either."

"Oh? How so?"

She turned her eyes away from his but he used one hand to hold both of her arms above her head and the other to turn her face back towards him.

"How am I not an ordinary farmer?" he asked even though he knew the answer.

Zelda glared at him.

"You know how I feel about you, Link."

"What?"

"Let me go you imbecile," she said as she tried to move out from under him.

His face closed in on hers and her eyes went wide. She could see the beautiful details of his face even more than before: his diamond-like blue eyes, his soft and warm lips…

"Now, now, be nice Princess, you wouldn't want me to get angry, now would you? Why aren't you using your magic to free yourself?"

"Because I don't want to hurt you," she said with a light glare and that only made him laugh even more.

He kissed her forehead and stood up, holding his hand out for Zelda. She sighed and grabbed it, but just as she did, he felt a strong jolt in his whole arm.

"What the…?!" he shouted, letting go of Zelda instantly, "That hurt!"

"You're the legendary Hero of Time, suck it up."

Link looked at her with wide blue eyes.

"You know, sometimes you're wise and loving, but others you're just a…"

She glared at him heavily.

"Witch…"

Her hand glew a bright blue and lighting shot out of her hand, following Link as he ran around the room. He dived towards his sword and held it up, absorbing Zelda's attack. Once his arms stopped shaking from the impact, he sighed and lied down on the ground.

"A little help would be nice Cassil," he laughed, but no answer came.

Link stood up with his eyebrows raised and looked at his son, then smiled. He was laying on his stomach, his arms resting under his head, legs stretched out and his eyes shut.

"He fell asleep," Link said to himself with a faint smile.

He walked up to him and gently moved some stray hair strands away from his face. He was about to pick him up in his arms but stopped when he felt a hand on his. He looked up as Zelda was putting the covers over his son.

"He can sleep here, I'll go sleep in another room."

Link nodded and yawned, making Zelda smile.

"You should get some rest also, you need it more than everyone from what I saw."

"Alright," he said between more yawns.

"Certainly, I'll ask the maids to bring in another matress—"

Link cut her off waving his hand.

"I'll be fine on the couch."

"But—" Zelda tried to protest.

"If I feel uncomfortable or cold, I'll sneak into the bed with Cassil. I think it's big enough for the two of us."

Zelda nodded then kissed him goodnight on his cheek. Just before she left the room, she turned around once more.

"Tomorrow morning I have someone I would like you to meet. He will accompany you on your quest and will be a great help."

Link stood up opening his mouth to talk but she pushed him back down with her magic.

"I said tomorrow, Link. You need your rest. I know you want to get into the Twilight Realm and save Midna as soon as possible, but you need to be in perfect shape to meet this person."

That said, she stepped out, closing the door behind her. _Someone she wants me to meet? I wonder who she could be talking about. 'Cause as far as I know, no one in Hyrule is brave enough to take on the things I do except for the group that had meetings in Telma's Bar, but if it was one of them she would have told me right away… Maybe he's from another province? Why do I have to be in perfect shape to meet him? I don't know…_ Link decided to put that matter aside and try to get some sleep. He took one of the blankets from the bed and brought it to the couch, where he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

* * *

"Link," a feminine voice called.

He did not budge, he felt too tired to do so.

"Link, wake up," she said, lightly shaking his shoulders.

"Leave me alone Ilia," he mumbled.

"Link, you need to eat and drink something or you'll die. Look at yourself, you look exhausted."

He glanced in the miror in front of him and she was right, he looked awful and lifeless, but he did no want to admit it.

"I just woke up," he yawned, "What do you expect?"

"You know what I mean, Link. I don't think Sheik would want you to be like this because of him."

Link turned over and looked at the man lying beside him, the bandaged, beaten up, passed out man. Link's fists cluched tightly on the blankets at the sight of him. He felt that it was all his fault. The last time that he saw him breathing steadily and healthy, he barely acknowledged him. He curled up beside him, holding him close.

"If only I told him what I said in the water, I wouldn't have been mad and he would still be here," he sobbed, "It's all my fault. What did I ever do to deserve this? What did _he_ do to deserve this?"

"Don't blame yourself for something you couldn't prevent, Link. You'll only feel worse and your false guilt will consume you."

"If only I wasn't so childish, I would have left with him to get his arrows and at least… at least I would have been with him."

Ilia took the damp towel from Sheik's forehead, dipped it a warm water bowl, rung it out, then put it back. Link's lips barely curled up into a grateful smile when someone suddenly knocked loudly on the door.

"LINK! ILIA!" the Mayor shouted, "THE DOCTOR'S HERE!"

Link was up to his feet faster than Ilia thought he could in his state and ran towards the door. As soon as it was opened, the doctor came running in with the Mayor to far behind him.

"This way!" Link yelled pointing towards the room where Sheik was bedded.

The two men stepped in and Link tried to follow, but Bo put his hand out in front of him.

"It would be best if you wait out here, Link," he said.

The young man looked up at him with teary eyes, but backed down and then the door closed in front of him.

* * *

Link paced back and forth non-stop in the living room, awaiting the doctor's news impatiently. Many hours had passed already, so many that Ilia had fallen asleep. _I hope he's alright… _Just as that thought passed his mind, the doctor came out taking off his blood soaked gloves and put then in the nearest garbage. Link rushed up towards him and grabbed him by the shoulders, looking him straight in the eyes.

"When can I see him? Did it go well? Will he live? Is he alright?" he asked hurriedly in one breath.

"As soon as I leave. Yes. Yes," he took his hair net off with a sigh.

"Is he alright," Link repeated with a worried tone.

"More or less…"

"Wh… What do you mean? It went well, he'll live… but he's _more or less_ alright?!"

Link's grip on the old man's shoulders tightened so much that it made him scream.

"Let me go!" he shouted.

"You're a DOCTOR for crying out loud! How can he posibly be _more or less alright_ if you treated him?!"

The Mayor and Ilia grabbed Link by his shoulders, pulling him off the man.

"Link, calm down!" they shouted.

"Calm down? _Calm down?!_" he asked, almost hystericaly, "How can I _possibly_ calm down when this stupid old bat came two days after we sent for him because he was too scared to enter the forest and says that his patient is more or less alright because he's incompetant?!"

Link broke free of the Mayor and Ilia's grip and slapped the doctor across the face, throwing him off to the side but before he even hit the ground, Link grabbed him by his collar.

"What's, wrong with Sheik?" he asked in a menacing tone.

"Well, scientifically speaking there's nothing wrong with him except for his wounds that were easy to treat…

"But…?" Link grew impatient.

"But his will to live is so low, that his whole body has shut down and put him in a coma."

Link's eyes grew wide with grief and lamentation as his hands slowly slide off the doctor shirt. Tears filled his eyes and he fell to his knees.

"It's… all my fault," he choked, "He's like that… because of me…"

"Link, don't—" Ilia started.

But her father cut her off by grabing her arm and shaking his head. Bo helped the doctor back up to his feet and all three of them left the house, leaving Link with Sheik. Tears still fell silently from his eyes as he crawled towards the older Hylian. When he reached the bed, he barely found enough strength in his legs to lift him up beside him. His head fell on his chest and he felt like he cried forever until he looked up at Sheik.

"I… I'm sorry," he sobbed.

* * *

Days, weeks, even months passed. Link had barely eaten since that night and no matter how much Ilia forced him to, the sorrow that made his insides turn only made it come back up. He practicaly looked like a ghost. The house would be a mess if Ilia was not there. The only times he left Sheik's side since the day the doctor came was to go to the bathroom once a day and refill the warm water bol. Ilia was getting seriously worried about him. She knocked out of habit even though she knew he wouldn't answer. Her feet carried her to their room, she was about to knock once more on the door when she heard voices, or rather voice, so she leaned against it and listened.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Link asked the comatose Sheik, "It was 10 years ago. It was awfully cold and rainy for the middle of the summer though, wasn't it?"

Ilia slowly opened the door and peeked in to see that Link was sitting on the bed beside Sheik, holding his hand tightly in his.

"I was only five then, but that was the most important day of my life, the day that someone actually cared for me for the first time. I had always managed to live on my own ever since my mother died when I was three until that day…

"I was all curled up in a fetal position, trying my best to stay warm. My fingers and toes had turned blue and I honestly thought that I was going to die because of the cold," he laughed, "At least I did until the rain suddenly stopped pouring on me, but not around me. When I looked up, there you were, soaking wet, a smiled beaming on your lips, you were my sun that day…"

"_Now what would be your name little one?" you asked._

"_L-Link, sir."_

"_Please, call me Sheik," you said as you held out your hand to me._

"I was so unsure if I should take your hand. I thought that you were another pedophile of some sort, but you looked way too young and you were; you were what, twelve years old back then? And you're ruby eyes said otherwise anyway. So I grasped your hand as strong as my little ones allowed me too."

"_What do you say about living with me, Link Beansprout?"_

"_I'm not a beansprout!" I pouted, but you only laughed._

"_So?"_

"_Alright, but only if you teach me how to use a sword and ride a horse! Oh, and feed me too!"_

"_Of course, Beansprout," you kept on laughing._

Link could have sworn that he saw a faint smile appear on Sheik's lips, as if he was remembering as well, but he told himself that it was his imagination so he continued.

"I was so overjoyed that I thought I was going to explode," Link smiled, "You abandoned everything for me: your home, your family, your friends, even your fiancé that was promised to you at birth that you were to marry six years from then, but you didn't even know me."

"_Why is he doing this for me?" I asked myself._

"I still don't know the answer for you abandoning everything, but I figured out on my own why you left your village and bought another house somewhere by only entering your village at night: it was a place that was not suited for children, a place were only servants lived and you were one of them, but you escaped… You escaped with me from that life to Ordon.

"I remember every single day until now: all the training I went through to surpass you, the bruises, blisters and cuts, everything."

"_Ouch!"_

"_Are you alright?" you asked me._

"_Of course I am!" I could rub anything off when you were there, no matter how hurt I was, "I have to suffer a little if I want to beat you!"_

"_Keep dreaming Beansprout!" you chuckled._

"_I'm not a Beansprout!"_

"You always ended up laughing, but not at me, with me. You were my sun and I felt like I was yours sometimes. I still can't believe that you managed to keep me alive when you were so young and I was merely a child. I never thought it could work out, but it did and I told myself that it was better living a little before I died anyway.

Link laughed silently.

"The times I remember the clearest though is when I had nightmares. You would always be there for me, no matter what time of the night it was, a smile on your face. You'd even get out of bed to get me a warm glass of milk."

"_Sheik," I sobbed._

"_Yes, Link?" you always asked tiredly._

"_I had another nightmare."_

"_Come here," you said with your arms out, the arms I would always end up falling asleep in._

"That life was perfect for me. You were the father, brother, friend… _family_ I never had…"

Link fell silent and Ilia noticed that his expression changed and that Link had removed the cloth from Sheik's forehead.

"At least it was all perfect until my thirteenth birthday…"

Ilia felt like she should leave, but her curiosity was too big.

"You brought me to the Castle Town so I could choose my own present, but that's when I hit my teens and I started noticing things. Things like the women who stared at you in awe, waving at you and giggling when you smiled back. It all made me unbelievably jealous. I thought that I was the only one that made you smile until then and seeing you smile so warmly to some random stranger made my insides rage. So I always ended up grabing your arm and telling them with my eyes to back off. When I thought about it, I felt childish beyond belief because I always thought of you as someone I loved as a father, brother or friend, not someone that I… well, _loved_."

Link brought Sheik's hand to his cheek and caressed it, then he turned towards him and stroked his face with his finger.

"It was only recently that I started to think of what happened to me."

Link tilted his head towards Sheik, then slowly leaned towards him, putting his arms on either side of his body.

"And it was all confirmed three month ago when I found you all beaten up, when I thought you were going to die."

His face was mere inches away from Sheik's now and he put his forehead on his, slowly closing his eyes as he breathed in his sweet aroma.

"That I'd deeply fallen in love with you…"

As he breathed the last words, his warm lips met Sheik's cold ones. Link savored the moment that he thought only he would remember. Little did he know that the door slowly closed as a smiling figure walked away. _This may be the only time for this… _He thought as they parted. Link looked at the man underneath him and wiped away a tear that fell on his cheek before wiping away the ones falling from his eyes. He chuckled sadly.

"Look at me, getting all emotional over you," he mumbled to himself, "What would he think of me if he heard what I said…"

Link put the warm towel back on Sheik's forehead, then laid down beside him, putting his head and arm on him.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," a voice mumbled.

Link shot straight up and loooked down at Sheik.

"Sheik? Are you awake? Sheik, can you hear me? … Sheik?" he choked on the last word.

Once again, he wiped away his tears with a faint laugh.

"Great, now I'm delusional," he chuckled miserably as he laid back down, pulling the covers over them, "Good night, Sheik."

A silent tear fell down the comatose man's cheek, for no one to even notice.

* * *

"What did you say?" Ilia asked a little panicked.

"Sheik is gone! He's disappeared!" the Mayor shouted.

Link's eyes grew wide with horror and he threw his food bags on the ground as he dashed inside the house towards their room.

"Link, wait!" they shouted after him.

But it was too late, Link was already on his knees beside the bed, clutching the covers in his hands, crying his heart out. Ilia walked towards him and, once again, her father grabbed her arm to stop her, but she just shook him off and hugged Link strongly in her arms.

"This is not happening… This is not happening… This is _not_ happening!" Link repeated.

Ilia did not know how to console him since she was always the one being consoled by him and Sheik when her mother died years ago, but now it was her turn to return the favor, so she only hugged him harder. She felt even more guilty than Link did, because she had finaly convinced him to go to the Castle town with her to buy some food and when they came back Sheik was gone.

"Ilia?" Link mumbled.

"Yes Link?"

"Why us? What did we do to deserve this? We've never done anything wrong. We've always been nice to everyone. So why…?" he sobbed.

"I don't know Link… I don't know…"

"Can you… leave me alone for a while please? I need to figure some stuff out."

"Alright, if that's what you want."

"Thanks."

Ilia hugged him once more and left the room without another word. Link stayed in that position longer than he thought he did, just thinking. _What did we ever do to the Goddesses to deserve this? Why now and not later?... How could he just walk away without even saying goodbye? _He lifted his head and looked out the window and was surprised to see a cloaked figure looking inside. Link called out after it but it only turned it's back to him and left when he walked up to the window. His eyes shot wide open and he dashed out of the house, running all the way to the side where the figure was.

"Sheik? Sheik is that you?" he shouted desperatly.

No answer came, but he saw a letter where the man was standing so he walked up to it. The letter was addressed to him by…

"Sheik?"

He picked up the enveloppe and was about to open it when a strong wind blew it out of his hands. Link panicked and ran after it. Everytime he was about to catch it, he just missed it by a hair. He wasn't even looking where he was running to. One last time, Link jumped into the air and grabbed it, but tripped as he landed, falling into water. Every inch of him was soaken wet except fo rht ehand that held the enveloppe. He stood up and finaly realize where he was: the Light Spirit's Spring. The one where he found Sheik beaen up a few months ago. He sat down on the grass as he slowly opened the first fold of the letter addressed to him by Sheik.

"I wonder what this—"

Link's eyes became wide as he read the first words of the elegant script: My Will. Link quickly opened the rest and read it aloud.

"_Dear Link, _

_I do not comprehend why, but I had a bad feeling that something terrible was going to happen to me, so I decided to write this Will in case my presentiments were true. I'm aware of the fact that I do not have much to offer but the house and the horses, but you're also welcome to do what you want with the weapons. If you need to, you can sell them for money. Do not worry yourself, do not think of them as the only link between us because they aren't. All I care for is your survival. There should be a chest in the cellar with all my savings for when you grew up, but I guess you can have them now since… well, you know. There's at least a good thousand Rupees in there, it should be enough to buy food for at least a good few months, unless you spend it all in one place, but I trust that you would never do such a thing. Anyway, if you are wondering why I am giving everything I have even if it is not much, it's because you're the only family I have and only person I truly care about. Even if I as to give something to my previous family, they would not accept anything because they would probably think of me a traitor for abandoning them. _

_There's some things I didn't tell ou about my past life and I think that it is better i it stays that way. I was involved in many dangerous affairs, affairs you do not need to know of. Anyway, all that to say that if I go missing, do not try to find me, please, I am begging you. I do not want you to get hurt no matter what the circumstances are. When people in the Castle town learn of my death, they will try and find me and do… well, things you don't need to know of either. I am not telling you too much because I want you to remember me as the Sheik you grew up with, not some other Sheik. That is about it I guess. I have faith in you. I know you'll be able to live on without me even though you would rather not. But you are smart, courageous and strong, you can do anything if you put your mind to it._

_Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die. What everyone wants from life is continuous and genuine happiness and that's what I want for you. Because in the end, it's not the years you lived that count: it's the life in your years. Please don't feel to grieved by my departure and if you ask why, think of it this way: the word 'happiness' will lose it's meaning if it's not balanced by sadness. __You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what is a life, anyway? We are born, we live a little while, and we die. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a little._

_A good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge, don't forget those words I once told you._

_Take care Link, I love you,_

_Sheik._

_P.S. This turned out to be more of a letter than a Will didn't it? No matter, you get the point. Do not go against anything I said or I'll come and haunt your dreams… Just kidding, I would never do that to my beloved Beansprout. Did I mention I love you?"_

Link had a hard time reading with so much tears in his eyes, but he managed somehow. His hands were shaking and his breathing was uneven.

"He knew he was going to die," he sobbed, "Why didn't he tell me?"

A small paper fell out from between the two pages and he picked it up.

"_P.P.S. I knew you would freak out if I did. Love you, Sheik."_

Link chuckled lowly through his hoarse throat.

"Of course, always thinking of others instead of himself."

His grip tightened around the letter and more tears slide down his cheeks. He curled up his legs, wrapped his arms around them and hid his face between his knees, crying his heart out.

"You selfish bastard!" he cried, "You didn't tell me because you didn't want to see me in pain! Not because you wanted to protect me! If you really cared for me, you would have… you would have told me…" he choked.

He felt cold, as if a piece of him, no, half of him was dying. He was alone, his only family was gone… for good. Sheik was never coming back and he knew it.

* * *

"Link? Link are you alright?" he heard Zelda ask.

"I was until you woke me up," he mumbled.

"Then why are you crying?"

"Hn? What are you talkin about."

He was still half asleep.

"And what are you doing on the floor?" Cassil asked.

Link slowly opened his eyes but shut them a soon as a bright lig blinded him. He let out a faint grunt of irritation. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to sit up but smashed his head into something hard, falling back down onto his back.

"Damn it!" Cassil shouted.

Clutching the side of his head, Link slowly sat up as he let his eyes adjust to the light. The first thing they focused on was his son whose hand was on his nose, crimson redwas dripping from it.

"What happened to you?"

"You head, that's what!"

Link laughed, Cassil was exactly like he was when he was a kid, with a pinch of Midna's attittude. As he observed his son's ticked off expression, he suddenly noticed a warm hand was placed on his arm, another on his leg and a third on his shoulder. The first two belonged to Zelda and the last to Cassil. He quirked an eyebrow.

"Uh… what are you guys doing?"

"What are _we_ doing?"

"You're the one crying on the floor!" Zelda shrieked.

Cassil covered his damaged ears. Nothing should be able to make such a sound, he grumbled. Link even winced it was such a high note.

"… What?"

"You were crying… on the floor," Cassil answered before Zelda had the chance to make their ears suffer once more.

Link's eyes shot wide open. _Don't tell me… Did my dream…?_ Link brought his hand to his eyes and they were right, his face was soaken with tears. _Betrayed by tears, again…_ _Damn it, Zelda's going to ask a lot of questions…_ He sighed internaly. As if on cue, Zelda's mouth opened and words came flying out faster than the speed of light.

"What is it? Did you have a nightmare? What was it about? What—"

He put a finger on her mouth and shook his head. She was going to retort but his look was enough to ma her understand that it was better if she just kept quiet.

"I know I promised yesterday to both of you that I'd talk about my problems, but I'd rather keep this one to myself if you don't mind."

"… It was about your past wasn't it?" she deduced.

"Yes… Zelda, how much did you see? You know, about when I was a kid?"

"The last thing I saw was when… well… you found Sheik in the spring. Why?"

"No reason," he sighed in relief.

_That means she didn't see what I remembered tonight. Thank— _He felt a weird sensation pass through his whole body and he shivered. It felt like someone was inspecting every fiber of his body, using X-ray vision to scrutinize even his darkest secrets… his eyes opened wide, but they turned into a scowl as he shot a venemous look at Cassil.

"_Don't you dare look! _I said I wanted to keep this to myself for a reason. Don't abuse of your mind reading powers, Cassil."

Cassil tensed and Link immediately felt the odd feeling disappear.

"_Thank you._ So, who's hungry?"

Zelda and Cassil looked at him in disbelief. _He has more mood swings than a woman…_ They thought with a chuckle. They all stood up and the two boys followed Zelda to the dinning room where there was practicaly a buffet set out.

"Dig in," she laughed.

"Yes 'mam!" they saluted mockingly.

* * *

Nothing but silent footsteps could be heard. Well, that is if you exclude the sound of Link's feet as they dragged on the carpet. He barely even bothered to lift them up to walk, it looked like they were gliding instead. The constant velcro sound was starting to get on Cassil's nerves, but he had learned several minutes ago that no matter what he said or did that his father was lost too deep in his thoughts to even look up at him. Link was looking at his feet, both of his hands in his pockets, his bangs shadowing his face. He looked somewhat like a kid who was caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. The sight amused Zelda, although she new perfectly well what he was thinking about, in general anyway.

_Why won't I stop dreaming about my past? It's pissing me off! I thought I got over that stuff, or at least forgotten it. No, I could never forget what happened with Sheik, no matter what. But then I at least put it aside, out of the way so I focus on what's in front of me instead of what's behind. Link felt his cheeks burn and he felt glad that his hair was so long. Damn it! I'm still half-asleep, I can't think straight at all. This is the worst possible time to have thoughts like that, I'm such a child… or rather an idiot. Ok, think of something else: the Twilight Realm is at war, Cassil came to get me for help and now Zelda is bringing us to see someone that will assist us. I wonder who it could be. Maybe she resurrected the ancient Hero, _he thought with a faint laugh, which the other two noticed.

Link's mind wandered back to Sheik's 'Will' and he chuckled again. _Who knew he was so wise, he always acted like an idiot. A smart idiot but not a wise one. _He could remember every word, every sentence perfectly thanks to his photographic memory. They were now walking on grass, but he did not notice in the slightest.

"Dad…"

Link kept on walking, still looking at his feet.

"Dad!"

He did not hear Cassil shouting practicaly in his ears.

"Dad, watch out!"

"AHH!"

_SPLOUSH!_

Link finaly came back to earth when he felt liquid fill his lungs and his view was blurry. He quickly came back up to the surface hacking, leaning over the edge of were he fell.

"Wh… _cough_… What the… _cough cough_… hell?" he tried to say, "You could've… _cough_… warned… _cough_…me!"

Zelda had her hand over her mouth, probably to hid her laughter, but Link could see that she was smiling in her eyes. Cassil, he didn't eventry to hid it. Link could have sworn that he would fall on the ground if he was not holding on to Zelda he was laughing so hard.

"I did… warn… you… you idiot!" Cassil managed to say between laughs.

Link got up with a grunt and shook his head, trying to get the water out of his ears. His eyes scanned the scene around him and he discovered that he was in the Royal Gardens, or more precisely the Royal Gardens' fountain.

"So, why are we here?" he asked, stepping out of the fountain.

"Because first entrance to the person that will assist you is here," she answered as she lowered her hand.

"First entrance? Where is he? In some secret room or something?" Cassil laughed.

"Actually, yes."

"… Huh?"

A soft laughter escaped Zelda's lips at their reaction and she gracefully walked over to the fountain Link was swimming in minutes ago.

"So, _where_ is he exactly?"

"He is in the Sacred Realm of the Core City."

The two young men looked at eachother with questionning looks.

"The 'Core City'? I've never heard of it before."

"Of course you haven't, only the Royal Family knows of it _and_ the only ones that can open the doorway to enter it."

Zelda walked around the immense fountain in the center of the gardens and tapped on a few stones until the resonance of one sounded hollow.

"It's this one," she said to herself, "Link, can you lift this up for me please?"

"Sure."

Link walked up to the Queen and picked up the marbled stone she indicated him to, revealing a diamond hand print underneath with caracters of the ancient tongue and cyclic symbols engraved around it in gold, silver and bronze. By touching the stone with his fingers, Link could tell that the hand was embossed at it's base also. The closer Zelda's hand was to it, the more light shined from it. When hers was finally placed on the cold diamond surface, the garden was filled with a blinding light and the two men were forced to cover their eyes. Well at least Cassil did since Link's hands and arms were occupied so he just turned around. The caracters as well as the markings seemed to melt off and into her arm, giving the impression that she had a tattoo.

When the light vanished, they were able to look at th Queen and noticed that nothing what so ever had changed.

"Uh, Zelda—"

She motioned Link to put the stone back in it's place and he sighed as he freed his arms of the heavy rock. A great flash blinded them momentarily as a portal appeared before them, exposing a hidden staircase. Cassil looked at his father in awe. Link just smiled. They both followed Zelda down the staircase. It looked like they were neverending but sooner than later they were finaly able to see some light at the end of the barely lit and Zelda spoke for the first time since the surface.

"The place we're headed is called the Core City, but you already knew that and that's not what I wanted to tell you," she started, "Are you two familiar with the legend of the creation of Hyrule?"

"More or less."

"Not at all," Cassil laughed.

"Before time began, before spirits and life existed, three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule: Din, the goddess of power, Nayru, the goddess of wisdom, Farore, the goddess of courage. Din, wit her strong flaming arms, she cultivated the land and created the red earth. Nayru poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world. Farore, with her rich soul, produced all life forms who would uphold the law. The three great goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens. And golden sacred triangles remained at the point where the goddesses left the world.

"Since then, the sacred triangles became the basis of our world's providence. And the resting place of the triangles was once the Sacred Realm. But now, for purposes that only the Goddesses know, the Triforce triangles rest completely within the chosen ones instead of just a fraction of their power. The Sacred Realm that they once rested in is the very same chamber were the one we seek is at this moment."

"Why is he there?"

"It was the only place that was safe for him in his current state."

"His current state? What happened to him?" Cassil asked out of curiosity.

Zelda smiled.

"You can ask him yourselves when we meet him."

Link and Zelda thought they heard a faint frustrated 'Hmph' and chuckled silently.

"By what you've told us, I'm guessing that this as the first ever Land of Hyrule," Link deduced.

"Correct," Zelda looked ahead and noticed that they still had a ways to walk, "Do you wo mind hearing another legend?"

"Why not, we have time to kill and I need to learn more about you guys," Cassil beamed.

Link nodded with a smile, at least it looked like he was smiling.

"Very well, it will be about the same Hyrule. It explains how it ended up beneath the earth… Long ago, when it was still at the surface, it was a prosperous land blessed with green forests, mighty mountains, and peace. But one day a man of great evil found the Golden Power and took it for himself. With its strength at his command, he spread darkness across the kingdom.

"But then, when all hope had died, and the hour of doom seemed at hand, a young boy clothed in green appeared as if from nowhere. I filled the Hyrulians with a newborn optimism. Although, as some thought, a child could never save the whole land of such a foul evil, and they were right. Yes, the boy managed to save many people, but he only dealt with the three provinces where the Shadow unleashed vicious monsters. After that, he vanished without destroying the Dark One which disapeared shortly before the boy. The consequence for the kid's action was great, but what would you expect of a child of that age?"

"What happened to the land?" Cassi asked, completely absorbed in the story.

Link smiled, remembering that he would asked that same question everytime Sheik would tell that story around the campfire on his birthday and how he would always inch closer to hear better.

"Darkness spread over it as fast as fire on oil. The Castle Town was ravaged, many people died, the Castle was destroyed. Monsters roamed the streets and as soon as someone would try and escape from that hell, a bone chiling shriek could be heard and then a petrified one as the man or woman was turned into one of those blood thirsty beasts. It soon became as dead and silent as a graveyard. The few who survived fleed to a nearby village known as the Kakariko Village.

"Ten years passed and slowly, light began to shine across the land once more. None knew why or how, but every place that was infected with monsters was cleansed and lives were saved. It was only until shorty after that they discovered why. It all became clear as the Dark Lord's Castle crumbled and they saw a man soaring towards the heavens in a bright blue light. The man was dressed in a green tunic: he was the child. He had come back, wielding the blade of evil's bane to seal the Shadow away and give the land light.

"They learned afterwards from the princess, that he had traveled through time to save the land. From that day forth, he as known as he Hero of Time. But then… a day came when a fell wind began to blow across the kingdom. The great evil that all thought had been forever sealed away by the Hero once again crept forth from the depths of the earth, eager to resume its dark designs. The people believed that the Hero of Time would again come to save them. But the Hero never appeared. Faced by an onslaught of evil, the people could do nothing but appeal to the goddesses. In their last hour, as doom drew nigh, they left their future in the hands of fate…"

She paused, signaling that it was the end of the legend, but not what she had to say.

"None remain but the Royal Family who know of what happened to that kingdom. It was sealed away underneath the ocean's surface by the Goddesses, a protective barrier shielding it from the outside world. Time passed and the terrain changed over the years, causing the Land to resurface with a natural protective wall all around it. When my ancestors found it, they thought that they ought to protect it with their lives, so they built their castle around it and hid an entrance in the gardens that the location was to be passed on from mother to daughter, and that's what the Royal family has been doing until this day: protecting the Ancient Kingdom of Hyrule."

"The kingdom was sealed under water, but is there still people living down here?" Cassil asked.

Zelda smiled, they were one step away from exiting the tunnel.

"Why don't you find out for yourself."

That said, they stepped into the light and the two young men were amazed at the sight before them: an artificial light bathed the city in a peaceful golden color, a simpler and smaller fountain than the one above rose majesticaly in the center of the town square, many stands longue the sides with a great variety of products from food to tools. People flooded the streets, multicolored banners were hung all around the town. Link and Cassil guessed that they were also celebrating the Queen's birthday.

Right behind the fountain was the road that lead up to were the castle used to be, at least that's what the ruins looked like. On their right there were three entertainement establishments: a Bombchu Bowling Alley, a Treasure Chest Game and in the back was a Shooting Gallery. A Bazaar, a Potion Shop and a mask shop called Happy Mask Shop were on their left. Link made a mental note to check the Bazaar and the Potion Shop before they left.

Link felt an odd sensation as he walked in the crowd, blindy following Zelda. He felt… like a normal Hylian. Not the Hero, a simple boring Hylian. It felt exactly like the times he used to enter the Castle Town before they all knew he was the one that saved them all. A wide in appeared on his lips. Everyone just walked by, waving to the Queen's guests, not the Hero and his son.

"It's… different than from above, isn't it?" Cassil whispered as he waved back to one of the villagers, smiling.

"Yeah…" he answered as he smiled at two giggling young girls.

_It's a good thing I don't wear the tunic anymore or it's b the same._

"Is the person we're looking for from this city?" he asked remembering why they were there.

"No, the person we're searching for is from above. And besides, he's far too brave to come from this ancient civilization."

"I thought that only the Royal Family knew about this city."

"No one except for him knows of it because he is a childhood friend of mine," she said giving only a part of the true answer.

_They don't need to know everything yet, especialy Link._

"Hold up," the Twili boy interrupted, "What did you mean by he's far to brave to come from here? The citizens here aren't?"

"They are far from being so. They do not even want to walk the surface they are so afraid. The fear that they will see the Dark Lord if they do is too great in their hearts."

"I see…"

"But the man _is_ in this city, right?"

"Yes, of course or I would never reveal this sacred place to you," she chuckled with fake mock.

Zelda thought she heard a faint 'Che' from Link.

"Then where is he?"

"In there," she said as she pointed towards the North-East.

Their eyes followed the place her finger was directed at and were able to faintly notice a Temple hidden behind many trees that they could now see because they were closer. It looked like…

"Wait a minute! Don't tell me that there's a monster in there!" Link shouted, "I only brought my sword!"

Zelda would have slapped him upside the head for talking about monsters if they were still in the crowd but they were almost at the Temple's entrance and nobody was there at that time of the year. So she just chuckle lightly.

"Don't worry you lazy farmer, it's not that kind of Temple. There's nothing in it but spirits."

"… I've had bad experiences with spirits…" he mumbled.

The two laughed at Link.

"Who knew that the man who saved an entire kingdom was such a chicken," Cassil mocked.

"Hey! I am _not_ a chicken! I just highly dislike poes…"

"Un-huh, sure you do."

"AHH!"

Link threw himself at Cassil and started chasing the laughg boy around Zelda.

"Who knew that the man who saved an entire kingdom was so childish," Cassil mocked again between laughs.

"Come here you littleb brat!"

"Ha! It's all in the genes _dad_!"

Zelda had her hand over her mouth once again to hide her laughter.

"Pff! Do you honesly think it comes from my side of the family?"

"Yes, because idiocity comes from the other side. Look who she fell in love with!"

A deafening _'CRACK!'_ was heard and the two men found themselves in the pond, feeling a little dazed.

"Wow… What happened?"

"I felt like… someone zapped us?" Link shot a look at Zelda whose hands were now behind her back, but he could still see some electricity slithering on her arms.

"I thought that you two might need some cooling down," she smiled evily.

They both humph-ed as they stepped out of the cold water and tried to ring their clothes out.

"That's the second time today for you isn't it?" Cassil laughed.

"I'm sorry, but—" Link immediately stopped talking as he saw Zelda's arms light up.

"Thank you,"she grinned.

She walked passed them, waiting at the entrance of the Temple. Cassil leaned towards his dad.

"She can be scary for a Queen sometimes…" he whispered.

Link nodded as he started advancing through the Temple's doorway. When he entered, he was blinded even more than when he entered the city. The light was much brighter but it had a silver color to it instead of a golden one. The walls and floor were white marble. A sort of pedestal with a Triforce and another symbol sat in the middle of the floor. In the back, a large iron door rose from the ground and just in front of it was a stand with three gems floating around theirselves, sparkling maddly. Link felt an odd déjà-vu feeling that sent shivers down his spine.

"Those are the three Spiritual Stone that the Ancient Hero had to collect in order to open that door: the Kokiri Emerald, the Goron's Ruby and the Zora's Sapphire."

"Yeah, I know…" Link surprised himself to say.

As he said those words, for some reason, he felt like as though he was in a trance ands suddenly felt dizzy. It all seemed familiar to him, but he never set foot in that Temple, let alone that city.

"You can fell it can't you," Zelda said more as a statement than a question.

"Feel what?"

"Your ancestor's soul's memories flooding your mind."

"Is that what it is?"

She nodded and Link turned bck towards the large iron door. The queen passed by him ad stood in front of it, gently brushing the cold metal surface with the tip of her warm fingers.

"He lays behind this sacred door. The one that will assist you on your quest, that is."

"Then what are you waiting for? Open the door!"

"We have to get out of here so we can save my mom as soon as possible!"

Zelda sighed.

"It's not that simple…"

"Why? Can't you just push it open or something?"

"No, we need to infuse it with a fraction of each of the Goddesses' power."

"How are we supposed to do that?"

Zelda hesitated as if it would hurt him by giving him an answer, but she had no choice if they wanted to see the man on the other side.

"… We have to… let the Goddesses temporarily… take over our body…"

As the queen feared, her words affected Link deeply. Calm blue eyes were now shot open with fear and a strong well-built body was now tremling as memories flooded every fiber of his body.

"Wh…What?"

"You heard me correctly the first time, Link." There was a hint of sadness in her tone. She raised her hand to put it on his shoulder. To try and comfort him some way. But as soon as Link felt the contact, he slapped her hand aside as he backed up, shaking hs head from side to side.

"No… No… NO! _I am not_ letting that happen to me again! The last time I did horrible things. I even hurt… I even hurt my own son. I'll never be able to forgive myself if that happens again!"

Her sapphire blue eyes fell down to her feet. Cassil walked towards his father, holdinghis hands out.

"Dad… I know you don't want to, but you have to if you want—"

"NO!" he shouted as he stepped back even more, so much that he tripped on the pedestal, hitting the ground hard but not noticing the pain since his terror numbed his whole body. "There's no way I'm going to let Farore take me over! Even if it means saving Midna without this guy! We don't need him anyway—"

"YES YOU DO!" Zelda shouted in frustration.

Her sudden burst took him them by surprise, especially Link.

"You _do_ need him to help you! Without him you won't even be able to reach the Twilight Realm! Let alone find a portal and a key!"

"Zelda… I—"

"Besides, the effect won't be the same if you keep your emotions under control! Last time your anger and pain resulted in a rampage!"

Link winced and looked up at her guiltily. She took a deep breath then let all of her anger disappear as it escaped her lips slowly.

"I know it wasn't your fault and I'm not saying that the Relix didn't deserve it, but you won't have to worry about losing control because it only lasts until the door is completely open."

Cassil felt an awkward aura between the two. The ony thing he could think about to lift it was to change the subject, or at least divert it from his father.

"And um…" he hesitated, "In case you haven't noticed, the one that holds Din's Power is dead. Or at least not here at the moment."

"Yes, I am aware of that, Cassil," she said as she faced him, "Tell me you two, what do you think happened to Din's Power when Ganondorf 'died'?"

That question took them by surprise. The thought had never crossed Link's mind and even less Cassil's. Her energy could not have possibly disappeared with him, she's a Goddess and as far as they knew, meaning that she was immortal. _So what happened to it?_ Link thought. It could be floating around, awaiting the next chosen one. But they doubted it.

"I don't know," he gave up.

"It was seperated in half and infused itself in us, the hosts of Nayru's Wisdom and Farore's Courage."

"I see…"

"But to remove the seal placed on this door, three hands have to come in contact with it. Three different ones, each belonging to a different person."

"That brings us back to the problem that Ganondorf's not here."

Her eyes met Cassil's.

"Why do you think you're her right now, in this city, in this Temple?"

"Um… Because I'm Links son and you didn't want to leave me alone with all those weird looking guards?"

Zelda laughed at his answer.

"I brought you here to use you as a vessel."

"As a vessel?" Link wondered.

"Three hands each belonging to a different person must touch the door simultaneously," she repeated, "And even though we both possess half of Din's Power, as far as I know we're only two different people. So we will transfer the Power into him in order to open the door."

"How are we going to do that?" Cassil asked.

Zelda turned her back to them and walked until she was on the left side of the door. Without turning around, she motioned them to come as well. They exchanged a look and did as she said, or rather signaled.

"Link, stand on the right and Cassil, you stand between us."

They did as they were told.

"What now?"

"Grab Cassil's shoulder."

Link obeyed as she also puther hand on the Twili boy's other shoulder.

"Now, I'm warning you, both of you, that as soon as our hands touch the door simultaneously, you will feel your palm either burning or shocked by a powerful electrical charge. Whatever you do, _do not_ remove it until the door has opened or you will lose your sanity."

They nodded and turne their heads back towards the large metal door, their arms stretched out, hands ready to touch the cold surface and bear the pain that came with it.

"On my count," Zelda declared, "Three, two, one, _now_!"

A vociferous _CRACK!_ was the first sound that was heard when warm came in contact th icy cold, as many designs appered on the door's surface. Cassils legs shook under him, but Link and Zelda tightened their grip on his shoulders, giving him just enough strength to stay up. Link bit on the inside of his lip to suppress a cry as he felt his hand burning madly and Zelda's whole right arm trembled violently as the current ran through it. As fast as it came, their pain disapeared and it was completely silent. Their eye lids slowly closed against their will and shot right back open wide. Their iris's and pupils were now gone, replaced by a glowing vivid color of the Goddess who took over them. Green, red and bl ribbons of light slithered through the markings that appeared seconds ago on the door and dust fell from the ceiling as it slowly raised from the ground. When it was completely out of their way, their hands fell to their sides as they panted heavily .

"Phew," Link huffed, "That used up a lot of my energy."

Zelda chuckled.

"What?"

"It's just that I wasn't expecting you to handle it so easily. When I closed this door by myself, using only Nayru's power, I fainted and was in a critical condition," her eyes focused on Cassil, "But I'm even more surprised that you're still standing, Cassil."

"Me too, but now's not a very good time to take a nap right? And besides, I'm curious to see who you told us about."

Link smiled at his son's curiosity as he approached what seemed like total darkness. The closer he got, the more he could see the faint moving light in the distance.

"What was his name again?" Cassil asked himself.

Before Zelda could answer, Link interrupted.

"Zelda, whats in the light behind the Master Swords's ancient pedestal?"

"The man I want you to meet…" She had a worried look in her eyes for some reason Link was unaware of.

"Damn it!" Cassil shouted, "Why cant I remember? It was short so I should but…"

Link was finaly close enough to see the man's features, the man that was floating in the air surrouned by many fairies flying around him in circular motions. His arms were stretched out in the air to his sides and his legs hung beneat him, making him look like a cross.

"I think it started with a 'K'," Cassil continued to mumble to himself, "Krory, no, Keith, not that doesn't sound right either. Not at all actually."

Sweat drenched his bare taned chest that was covered in ink markings and Link guessed that they were some king of seal. His blond hair was surprisingly long: it reached lower than his waist. The way it waved in an unexistant breeze was almost enchanting. His bangs covered more than half of his face.

"Maybe it was an 'S' then… Sora, no, Shea, no, Sher, no… GAH! What was it?!"

Link felt a faint wind come from behind them and it made the man's hair move even more. His bangs moved away from his face and Link's eyes went wide. He was definitely not expecting to see what the man's hair was hidding: slightly opened ruby red eyes.

"… Sheik."

* * *

Clx : MWAHAHAA! I'm so evil!!  
Amx : That's my line.  
Clx : Ending the chapter like this is so, so _evil_!  
Amx : No, not really.  
Clx : puts pinky beside mouth Dr.Evil style MWAHAHAHA!!  
Amx : sigh Yes we get it, you're evil. Next your going to be telling us to come to the dark side 'cause you have cookies.  
Clx : O.O I heard cookie…  
Amx : bangs head on laptop


	6. Decaying Soul

_Clx_ : Gimme a 'P' ! – _( P ! )_

_Amx_ : Gimme an 'R' ! – _( R ! )_

_Clx_ : Gimme an 'O' ! – _( O ! )_

_Amx_ : Gimme a 'C R A S T I N A T I O N' ! – _( C R A S T I N A T I O N ! … wtf ? )_

_Both_ : What does that spell ?! _( PROCRASTINATION ! )_

_Clx _: *bangs head on keyboard crying and cursing stupid 5 page long science report and end of semester exams*

_Amx_ : *burns down the school* *insert evil cackle here*

_Clx_ : Ok, back to reality here people *wipes blood off forehead*, so sorry it took so long let's just say that… I've been ignoring the fanfiction a bit, no, the whole internet

_Amx_ : Except for YouTube, where you uploaded 3 to 4 AMVs *stares*

_Clx_ : Shut up. Anyway, I actually… finished this chapter a while ago.

_Amx_ : As in a month.

_Clx_ : *glares daggers* But when I reread my notes about the middle and end of the plot… it did not work.

_Amx_ : Stuff was just, messed up I guess you could say.

_Clx_ : Yeah, so I had to rewrite more than half T^T

_Amx_ : We're sorry this chapter is not very satisfying, but bear with us… please.

* * *

"Yeah! That's the name!" Cassil exclaimed, "How did you know, Dad? I thought you weren't listening earlier."

"He wasn't," Zelda answered in his place, walking towards the speechless Link, "But he knows this man since he was a child so it's understandable and—"

"WOAH!" Cassil shouted, "What're you doing?!"

The queen stopped advancing when she felt something cold barely touch her neck. She followed the object with her eyes all the way up to Link's tightly shut hand. He had drawn the Master Sword faster than she was able to see. She guessed that Cassil only knew because he was glancing into his thoughts. '_If looks could kill'_ was the first thing that came into mind when Cassil and she saw the murderous intent in Link's eyes direct towards her. She could only imagine what he was thinking about right now. She looked at him indifferently, as if she found herself in a situation similar to this everyday, and that only angered him even more.

"What's gotten into you?!"

"What is the meaning of this?!" Link spat, completely ignoring his son, "Why is he here?!"

"If you were listening to me earlier, you would know," her voice was as calm as ever.

"Well I'm listening now!"

She sighed. _I hate repeating myself._

"Look Link, we both know very well now what happened to him and why he fell into a coma, right? But you found him lying in the clearing in front of the Light Spirit's spring, I only found out about that several months later. So I began to worry and I sent a messenger looking for him. His report shocked me, thus I ordered one of my guards to bring him to me to take proper care of him."

"Why?! You didn't even know him but you're still talking about him as if you've known him since forever! So why would you worry about him?!"

Zelda opened her mouth to respond but Link cut her off, clearly not done yelling at her.

"And what do you mean by _take proper care_ of him?! He was doing just fine, he was stable! He _didn't need you_ to rip him from me and everyone else!" the flame of anger glowed brighter than ever behind Zelda's eyes, "So, now, tell me: why the _Goddesses damn hell_ did you do that?!"

Zelda suddenly teleported in front of him and he was slapped hard across the face as soon as he turned to look at her.

"_BECAUSE HE'S MY BROTHER YOU FOOL_!"

Link flinched as those words bounced off the Temple walls and echoed in his head. He was definitely _not_ expecting that as an answer.

"Wha… What?" was the only thing that he could manage to say at the moment.

"He's her brother," Cassil responded as he could clearly see that Zelda did not intend on saying it again.

"I heard her the first time! But… but how?"

"Well, technically he's her step-brother since they don't have the same father."

Link's expression told him to continue.

"Their mother, the deceased queen, was very open to the population. She would visit every single village just to bond with the people. But when she visited a certain one, she met a man that she fell in love with over her head due to his looks and charm. Although, at that time, she was already married to the king so it made things difficult and besides, a queen could never be with a mere villager.

"But that didn't stop her: she would sneak out of the castle when she could to see him and…" he coughed, "Let's just say that they had more than one… 'midnight adventure', thus she became pregnant. The king never knew that the child she was carrying was not hers or it would have cost their heads, the man's, the queen's and the baby's."

"But when he was born, wouldn't he notice that the baby had darker skin?"

"Yes, that's why she returned to the village when her water broke, obviously without telling my father," Zelda had finally regained her calm and collected composure, although her eyes betrayed it all, "She told him that the baby died at birth due to a fragile body."

Link chuckled mentally, knowing far too well that Sheik was everything but fragile.

"But in reality," she continued, "She left him with his biological father… I was born a few years after him, a little bit after you."

"Then how were you able to meet each other again? And how did you find out you were relatives in the first place?"

"It just so happened that the man my mother fell in love with was from a clan that has been serving our family for as long as the first ever princess. So when he became of age to be able to walk and communicate, she personally asked for him to be my playmate and once we were mature enough, she told us the truth. That day forth I asked him, not ordered him asked him if he would prefer acting a little more freely around me, but he nobly refused, although he was a little warmer after."

"I see…" Link mumbled.

He then noted that he still had his hand closed strongly on the Master Sword's hilt, so he slowly put it back in its scabbard and rubbed the back of his head.

"I… Zelda… sorry."

"It's alright, after all, it's not completely your fault. I should have made you listen earlier."

A faint smiled appeared on his lips but it faded as soon as his eyes settled on the dormant Sheik. His blue orbs weren't sure what to fill up with, anger for not telling him about that part of his past, happiness for finally seeing him in years, or sadness for all he lies the man must have been told when he was a child. Link absolutely despised lying. He ended up settling for sadness.

"I wonder if this was one of the things from his past that he didn't want me to know about…" he said more to himself than as a question.

"When he left with you, or rather escaped as he would say, he did not only abandon his people, but me as well. I should have been angry with him, but I couldn't bring myself to be. He was and still is my only brother after all."

Link felt a pang of guilt pass through his body and Zelda saw him flinch.

"But we stayed in touch," she reassured, "Although, sending each other letters and the occasional secret visit once and a while when he came to the castle town was not nearly as pleasant as actually living with him."

"I'm so sorry Zelda. If I'd known—"

"You would only sadden my brother because you'd know something he didn't want you to."

Link's eyes fell to his feet and he suddenly felt a pain in his chest. _Know something he didn't want me to… It's too late for that._

"You know," she smiled softly, "I kind of envy you, Link."

He looked back up at her with his eyebrows quirked.

"How so?"

"You were the last one to see his eyes opened even though they must have been a sad sight at that time."

"What do you mean?"

"When I'd feel alone or sad, he would always tell me to look straight into his eyes and ask me 'Do you feel alone now?'"

Link smiled as memories of the past ran through his head. What she just said was exactly what Sheik used to do with him and after he'd answer that he didn't, Sheik would hug him. _Speaking of Sheik…_

"Okay!" he shouted with joy, "Now that we've sorted out all of our problems—"

"You mean*cough*your*cough*problems…" Cassil mocked.

"_Fine_… _My_ problems, can you get him down, Zelda?"

"Actually, no."

"What? Why? Are you telling me that you brought us all the way down here just so I could see him and not be able to bring him back with m– us?"

"No, although I cannot bring him down," she faced Link, "You can."

A puzzled expression plastered his face.

"How?"

She wore a mischievous smile and Link had a bad feeling about what she was going to say.

"How do I get him down Zelda?" he repeated.

"Well first, you have to take off you shirt."

Cassil slightly blushed and Link just gaped at her, his eyes as wide as they could go.

"Uh… What?"

A silent chuckle escaped her lips.

"Just do it, I'll explain after."

Link gave her and odd look but began taking off his coat anyway.

"Alright, but don't go abusing me in front of your brother," he mocked.

Zelda rolled her eyes. She heard a shiver coming from Link.

"Is it me or it's cold in here?"

Cassil laughed and Zelda motioned him to come see her as she looked through the bag she brought. She took out two glass contains, one containing a red liquid and the other a back one, and a paint brush. She took the cap off the black one and dip the tip of the brush in it.

"Alright, this might be a tad cold, but you've been to Snowpeak so it should be no big deal right?"

Link scoffed. Zelda was right, it was cold. Shivers ran down his spine every time the liquid touched is bare skin. When she finally put her stuff away, Link sighed. He had square patterns seemingly putting his muscles in evidence and he had an eye with a red pupil and a tear streaming from it drawn on both of his palms as well as his forehead. _Where have I seen this symbol before?_ He examined the ones on his arms, there were very few but more detailed than any of the others. The thing he noticed first though was that they were exactly the same as the ones on Sheik…

"Alright, so why did you just use me as your sketch pad again?" he asked even though he had a vague idea why.

"She hasn't told you yet," Cassil laughed.

"Come with me," she said as she grabbed Link's wrist, careful not to rub any of the ink off. She came to a halt as soon as she was directly in front of Sheik.

"The ink that I used was not your everyday ink, it's not even ink actually. It's a special concoction that allows the person with it on his or her body to transfer their strength into the person of their choice, but it obviously works better and faster if that person also has the markings, the only difference, like I said earlier, is that they're the mirror image. You won't give it all to that person obviously, just as much as he or she needs. It is against the law to practice this magic on the deceased, because then the person giving their strength _would_ die and the other would come back to life. It is also most importantly against the laws of nature."

"So that's what I need to do with Sheik," Link understood, muttering to himself and not listening completely to what the Queen told him.

"Correct," she took no offense.

"But there's something I don't quite understand: why couldn't you have done it when he first fell into a coma?"

"The strength, in other words the strongest quality or qualities, of the donor must be what the receiver needs, or it will not work and the donor will be rejected violently."

"Meaning?" Link comprehended what she said, but he wanted to know what Sheik needed, to know if she really could not have helped him.

"He does not need wisdom or brains, which are my strongest qualities. He needs courage, understanding and love from a good friend."

Link's eyes opened wide and he looked at her in question.

"I get that he needs courage and…" he paused for a moment, blushing slightly before he coughed to clear his throat, "And love from a good friend, but why does he need understanding?"

"Did you read his will all those years ago?"

"Yes, but…" he trailed off.

He sighed and walked towards his clothes that were lying on the cold tile.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He did not answer her and instead bent down, rummaging through his shirt. His fingers found a broken seam and he pulled an envelope out of the hidden pocket. When he took the contents out of it, Zelda recognized Sheik's gracefully intimidating writing.

"Why do you carry it around with you? You could lose it…"

Link turned towards her with a soft smile she had never seen before that moment.

"Because every time I read it, I imagine him saying these things, I can imagine his voice," he turned back towards the paper in his hands, "Which is one of the things that I've missed the most."

Zelda felt a pang of guilt. She was practically blaming Link for stealing Sheik away from her earlier, but he had grown up most of his life with him, she only did for a few years and after that they only met once and a while, less and less often as time passed. What she did not tell him though was that Sheik still pretended for the longest time that he still lived in the castle, but he in fact had another home with someone else.

Another thing that she deemed unnecessary to mention was that Sheik wrote two wills: one for Link and the other for her. Although, the contents were completely different. In hers, at the end, he told her to keep the promise they made the day he left the castle for good. She was to tell nobody no matter what, not until he told her otherwise***1***. Well, it was more that he did not want her to accidently tell someone who would then tell Link: the last person he wanted to know about it. Sheiks guided that secret from him out of fear that he would be deeply hurt and never talk to him ever again. He protected Link and the secret with his life, literally. If not for the spell Zelda had placed on him, he would have died long ago. Now it was her turn to guard it, to keep her mouth shut until Link was ready for the twisted truth.

"He needs understanding for his past sins," Link understood as he reread Sheik's Will, pulling Zelda from her reverie.

"Pardon? Oh, yes, that is why."

"What did he do that was so bad to need forgiveness?" Cassil wondered.

"No matter what it is, I'll forgive him," Link stated matter-of-factly.

_I'm not so sure about that_… Zelda thought with a sigh.

"Alright then! How do I get Sheik down from there… of do I have to manage to get up somehow?"

Cassil laughed as Zelda motioned Link to come back to the pedestal.

"When I tell you, prepare yourself to wrap your arms around him."

"Wh-What? Why?!" Link sounded like a child.

"He's unconscious, so he can't use his legs, Link."

"Oh…" _Duh you idiot…_

Zelda waved her hand and the fairies fluttering around Sheik scattered. All that was left was the luminous golden magic ribbons. The blond slowly started to descend and Zelda motioned to Link to get ready. He held his arms out just before she said 'Goodnight' with a sly smile.

Before he could ask any questions, Sheik was at his level and he wrapped one arm around his waist and the other around his shoulders, supporting Sheik's head with his hand. Link suddenly felt drowsy, but for some reason his standing legs still felt strong. He threw a tired-looking gaze at the Queen.

"Damn it… Zelda… what didn't you… tell me…"

* * *

That said, everything became black as he closed his eyes.

When he reopened them, he was blinded by a golden sunny light and put his hand over his eyes right away. After blinking a few times, his eyes adjusted to the brightness. He then noticed that he was laying on sand and that water was touching his feet, also that he was no longer in the Temple, but instead in… the Light Spirit Ordona's Spring? He inwardly grunted as he stood up, realizing that the markings on his skin were gone, but he still remained shirtless.

"What did she forget to mention this time?" he asked himself, a little annoyed.

As if on cue, he heard hooves and voices nearing the spring.

"Ahhh! Alright, alright already! I'm sorry! Just stop trying to kill me!" a young voice shouted.

"Not a chance Beansprout!" an older voice shouted shortly after.

Link heard the hooves stomp across the bridge.

"Argh! You're such an idiot, you know that !? You telling me not to call you master but you won't stop calling me Beansprout! How is that fair?"

"So what? I'm the adult here, I can do whatever I want!"

"Tch! Barely, look how immature you're acting right now!"

_Beansprout… Master… ? Don't tell me– ! _Link dashed towards the gate just in time to see an auburn red stallion gallop passed him, followed closely by a desert coloured one. His eyes grew wide: it was Sheik and him, a younger him. Watching the scene from a third person's view was… odd to say the least. He was about to follow when they, were out of sight, but he closed his eyes in his sudden dizziness. He shook his head and when he reopened them, he found himself in the middle of the village to see Sheik and himself fly into the air.

"AHHH!"

_SPLASH!_

_Why am I seeing my memories of that day?_ Their heads popped out of the water, gasping for air. Their fight was so childish, but it made his heart warm up somewhat. As he watch them being scolded by the mayor, he couldn't help the feeling of nostalgia that made his stomach twist. It surprised him when he saw Sheik push him back into the water as soon as everyone had their backs turned. He had forgotten that.

The next thing he knew, his vision became blurry and when it cleared, he was standing behind the two of them fishing. He then laughed at the faint blushed that appeared on the cheeks of his younger face when Sheik started to climb the pillar and even more when it became redder when he ad noticed that he was staring. Although his smile was replaced with a frown when the younger him dived into the water, swimming away from the older blond.

"Link! Hey, Link wait up!" Sheik yelled, "What am I supposed to bring all this fish back!"

The young Link reached the shore and started to run towards their house.

"Link come back here! … What did I say…"

Link sighed, waiting for the dizziness or the blurry vision, but it never came to his surprise. He remained behind Sheik. Said man put his hand on his forehead and chuckled miserably, the ghost of a frustrated smile on his lips.

"You idiot, you know fairly well what you said wrong," he mumbled to himself.

_Wait a minute… These aren't my memories…_

"You just had to provoke him didn't you?"

_They're Sheik's…_ The older blond hit the ground beside him in annoyance with himself before he lowered the basket containing the fish into the water and jumping in himself. Link tried to follow as he swam away, pushing the basket every once and a while, but after his first step everything became dark around him and he found himself in the storage room when Sheik was packing his things to head to the Castle Town and he was waiting for him outside. Instead of what he was expecting, Sheik was sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, a single lantern lit, staring at the small dancing flame.

"He knows you can read lips," he was still reproaching himself for Link's outburst, "Why couldn't you just let it go? Damn it, Sheik you're such an idiot!"

Link felt a twinge of guilt cross his body. Sheik was disgusted with himself and it was not even his fault, it was his own for not keeping his mouth shut like he should have in the water. He should have known better than to say something so reckless in the first place.

"He helps me get through everyday that would usually be unbearable without even knowing it… and yet I give him the hardest of times."

"That's not true Sheik," he said even though he knew his words would go unheard. "Every day we spent together was better each time."

Sheik bit his thumb, a habit Link noticed he had when he was lost in thought.

"… It looked like he said…"

Link tensed on the spot when Sheik left his sentence hanging like that. The need to know if the older man really saw what he said and the want to know if he felt the same way towards him made his heart beat furiously against his rib cage, so much that he could actually see his chest rising with each beat. _Wait a second, you can't go thinking things like that anymore. You have a son and are going to save the one you love._

He tried to convince himself that the last part he said was true, but knowing that Sheik was alive and that he could save him…

"I don't know what to think anymore…" he mumbled.

But that aside, he still wanted to know, he needed to know.

"Like he said, I…"

Link hated the tension.

"Nah, it must have been my imagination," he chuckled, although he sounded a bit sad, "Even if he did say what I think he did… Why would he?"

Link felt somewhat hurt by that answer and he still did not know if he actually saw what he mouthed underwater, although he had a strong feeling that he did.

"Anyway, I should get going. Zelda will grow impatient if I delay my departure any longer."

Sheik threw his bag over his shoulder and headed towards the ladder. Link moved out of the way, although Sheik would probably just pass through him anyway. Wrong. Sheik tripped over Link's foot and caught himself on the wall before his body had a chance to hit the floor. Link gasped and covered his mouth, noting that it seemed as though the older blond heard it. He lifted up the lantern to get a better look at the room.

"Who's there?"

Sheik seemed to place his gaze exactly where he was, deep crimson eyes setting upon sapphire ones, but Link thought otherwise when Sheik faintly smiled and turned around.

* * *

Sheik's meeting with Zelda was briefer than Link thought it would have been and rather dull. Every time Sheik opened his mouth to speak, it looked as if he was choosing his words carefully, too carefully. Zelda was the same, making it all seem a bit off to say the least. The whole time on the way back, Link floated in the air beside him, for he did not have a horse and let's just say that it would be impossible to keep up with Layali's pace. Then it hit him: he was going to see exactly how Sheik was attacked by the Relix and now that he knew that he could actually touch the others, he was going to do something about it. The older blond brought his steed to a halt and drew his daggers.

"How long do you plan on hiding in the shadows?" he asked.

"Impressive for a human," one of them said, and Link recognized that voice as Uncia's.

His insides boiled with rage as he took a fighting stance in front of Sheik. The blond jumped a little, but Link did not notice since he was behind him now. The Relix slowly abandoned their hiding places and jumped down, most of them slowly forming a circle around them and the others staying up in the trees. He did not recognize a single one of them.

"What business do you have with me?" Sheik demanded, now on the ground beside Link.

"You don't need to know you despicable Hylian, because you are a dead man!"

They charged towards them with battle cries. _It's worst than I thought it would be_, Link thought in disgust, _They actually gave him no warning what so ever. _Sheik slashed across the first Relix's chest, creating such a deep gash that the feline fell to the ground as limp as a rag doll. Link grabbed the hilt of his Master Sword, which remained with him for some reason unknown, and cut one of their head's off. The few surrounding him let out a gasp of horror when they saw the body fall with a thud to the ground and even considered retreating when they could not see the source of the attack.

Link made sure that Sheik was okay and when he confirmed that he was, he used the Relix's inattention to his advantage. He grabbed it by the collar of his cloak and pulled him forwards, piercing his sword through his stomach. The Relix in question's eyes shot wide opened as it gazed at the gash in his stomach. Link's grip lessened and it landed on the ground with a thud. The Hero missed the vital point on purpose, judging that it deserved to die a long and painful death. It tried to mouth something, but nothing came out.

Link dug his foot into its chest and pulled his sword out of it, swiping another Relix in the process. He was about to walk away from the one lying motionless under his foot but stopped when he felt something grab his ankle. Blue orbs shot wide open as they lay upon the dying Relix.

"Can you… _see_ me?" Link asked.

The feline's expression was enough of an answer. It tried to shout, but it was already too late as its remaining life left it. _How did he see me?_ he wondered. Link shrugged it off, he had other things to take care of.

After a while, none were left. Sheik and him were standing back to back, but Link thought of it as a coincidence.

"Something's wrong," Link said to himself, "Yes, I've been helping him, but I haven't seen those bastards Uncia and Liknade."

"I didn't know that the Relix were known for cowardice," Sheik announced seemingly right after what Link just said. "Why don't you show yourself so we can get this over with.

"Che, that attitude of yours is going to get you killed," Liknade chuckled darkly, "And I'll make sure it happens."

The rest of the Relix stepped out of the shadows and this worried Link a little. They were bulkier and the look in their eyes were the same as Liknade: those of a warrior.

"So those were the rookies, eh?" Link thought out loud.

They charged towards the Hylians and said men stood back to back without even noticing it. The first one attacked and Link countered easily — even though the Relix was not aiming for him — and disposed of it quickly. Sheik was faring well on his side as well. They both had to admit that these ones were by far stronger and faster than the others they had fought so far. Link dodged another blow that was obviously aimed towards Sheik and disposed of the attacker quickly.

This kept on for a while and they were both growing tired. Link should not be able to stand on his two feet steadily anymore, but his will to protect Sheik overpowered everything. Well, almost everything. Link's eyes shot wide open as he saw a Relix approach Sheik from behind, ready to strike at any moment. His legs carried him to the feline, grabbed the skin on its neck, and threw it to the ground. It's eyes shot wide open, which was quite understandable considering it was just thrown by something that was invisible for all it knew. Link raised his sword and thrust it downwards. The next thing he heard was metal clashing with metal and his arms stopped. The Relix stopped the blow and pushed Link off him. The Hero staggered back and tried to regain his balance.

"A GHOST!" it shouted at the top of it's lungs. "THERE'S A GHOST HELPING THE HYLIAN!"

All combat ceased and eyes turned towards the hysterical Relix. The nearest one approached it to try to calm it down, but the feline did not want to listen.

"CAN'T YOU SEE IT?! IT'S RIGHT THERE! RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!"

"Naso, you're delirious, please—"

Naso grabbed the other Relix's arm and pointed towards Link.

"TELL ME THAT'S NOT A GHOST!"

It fell to it's knees, it's eyes wide open with fear. Some ran to him to help him up, but as soon as they did, they shouted as well and started to run away.

"RETREAT!"

Uncia did not intend on leaving, but even though he ordered them to stay and fight, they just left. He would fight the Hylian, but he was not strong enough. Liknade waited for his chief's orders and disappeared into the darkness with a huff, clearly disappointed. Link rubbed the back of his head.

"How did that happen?" he thought. "And can somebody _please_ explain to me _why_ they could see me?!"

His voice echoed in the night. Everything was quiet now, not a single sound was in the air, that is until Sheik burst out in a fit of laughter behind him. Link slowly turned around with his brow rose, examining the bent over form of his friend.

"Oh… Din… That… just… priceless!" he tried to say between laughs.

Link could not help but chuckle a bit. Seeing Sheik like that made him feel nostalgic.

"If I… would've known that… Relix… were such scared-cats…" Link laughed at the pun. "Then I… would've exposed… you to them… sooner!"

Link started to laugh but then registered what Sheik said last.

"Wait… you can see me too?"

"Of course I can!" he announced, still laughing.

"But, how?"

"When I tripped over your foot in the storage room, I guess the contact gave me the ability to see you, even though you're not _technically_ here."

"What about them?"

"I suppose coming in contact with someone or something that could see you gave them the capability as well, Beansprout."

"Ah— WHAT?!" A vein popped in Link's forehead at the nickname.

"No, I guess that I can't call you that anymore. Seeing as you've grown so much." Link's cheeks felt a little warm. "How about Beanstalk?"

Link would have yelled at his friend, but he laughed instead.

"For the love of Nayru! Please no!" it was his turn to double over laughing. "That's sounds _so_ wrong in _so_ many ways!"

Sheik blinked, then grinned.

"You have a twisted mind."

"Tell me something I don't know, Master," he sneered.

"Now _that_ sounds wrong!"

"Look who has the twisted mind now!"

They looked at each other with the most serious looks them could manage, then laughed so hard it made their stomach hurt. When they recovered, Link approached Sheik with a smile on his face and patted his shoulder.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you."

"What are you — Oh, that…"

"How did you live, knowing that you would die?"

Sheik gave the most charming smile Link had ever seen.

"You."

Link cheeks burned furiously and he looked away.

"You're blushing."

"No I'm not."

Sheik tilted his head to the side and examined Link's face.

"Definitely blushing."

Link cleared his throat.

"So, um… what did you mean by me?"

"You're my only family, Link. I don't know what I would do without you."

Ah… family, of course…

"That sounded so cheesy."

"Are you any better?"

They both chuckled.

"Guess not."

Sheik looked up at him and pouted.

"What?" Link asked.

"… You're taller than me."

"You're just short, just like a woman."

Sheik burned holes through his head and Link chuckled.

"You should see what you look like in the future. You're hair goes way beneath your waist." Link smiled.

"It makes me look even more like a woman, doesn't it?"

"Heck yeah!"

Sheik slapped him across the face as he started to walk towards Layali and Link laughed.

"I think it looks better on you than short hair."

Sheik looked over his shoulder to Link. "You do?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason." Sheik smiled and kept on walking, but at a slower and calmer pace than before.

"Anyway, I'm just glad you're ali — Wait a sec…" Link's eyes shot wide open in understanding. "You're still alive?! How…"

Sheik turned back towards Link, his eyebrow arched.

"Is that a bad thing?" his voice sounded a bit hurt.

"Huh? No, of course not! It just means that—"

Before Link had time to finish his sentence, he heard something move between the trees and a dark figure leapt out, weapon in hand.

"SHEIK WATCH OUT!"

"You're mine, Hylian!"

Sheik drew his daggers and turned around, but it was already too late. Blood spurted all over as the immense blade slashed across his chest, stabbing Layali in the process. There were no words for the expression Sheik wore, and even less for Link's. Liknade smirked with satisfaction and leapt away before Link could get at him. Sheik suddenly felt heavy and his vision blurred. Link reached out and caught him before he fell. Link tried to put pressure on the dreadful wound, but the blood just did not stop coming out. Link felt the back of his eyes sting and they threatened to fall when Sheik brought his hand up to his face.

"Don't cry… over me… Link… please," he whispered with a faint smile. "I'm not… worth it… not if… you knew…"

"It doesn't matter Sheik, I—"

"Link… there's… a red potion… in my bag… give it to Layali."

"No! I-I'll give it to y-you!" Link's voice choked.

"No, Link… I'm supposed to… fall in a… coma anyway…"

"Why? I-I can save you!" Link took Sheik's hand in his.

"Link…" Sheik gave him a pleading look, but Link could see that he really did want to be saved, no matter the reasons that obliged otherwise.

He slowly nodded, willing his tears away. He slowly laid Sheik down, making him promise to still be awake when he came back — Sheik nodded — and ran towards the dying horse, lying almost motionless on the ground. He rummaged through one of the pockets in the bag and found the potion instantly. He uncorked the bottle and gently poured it into Layali's mouth. She gulped it down and tried to get up to her feet. Link helped her somewhat and pated her on the back. Sheik and he both knew that it would not save her life — the dosage was not concentrated enough for a horse — but it would give her enough strength to reach the younger Link, to alert him that Sheik was down.

"I know this might be painful, girl, but go home, show Link what happened. Think of it as your last and most important mission."

She snorted as if she understood and set off in a gallop. Link then turned back towards Sheik. He was still awake, like he promised.

"She'll make it… she's strong…" Sheik mumbled as Link picked him up.

"You are too, that's why you won't die."

Sheik smiled. He had so that he wanted to tell him, that he _needed _to tell him, but it would crush both of them and besides, he was not ready, not quite yet. Link held him a closer and started to walk towards the spring. That was were he found him, so he thought that he should bring him there. Sheik's head tilted to the side a little, touching Link's chest.

"Don't fall asleep, Sheik."

"I'm not… I'm just… resting… my eyes…"

Link smiled sadly, as he put the man down on the soft grass. Sheik looked at him one last time before Link felt dizzy and found himself in the bedroom, standing beside the bed that his friend laid in. Sheik, or rather Sheik's soul, was standing in a corner of the room. Link walked up to him as he watched himself sleep beside the comatose Sheik. His cheeks suddenly felt warm. It was the scene after he had said… _Oh, Din…_ He glanced towards the standing man, wondering how much he saw and heard. He wanted to know, needed to but at the same time had no desire to.

"Hey, Link."

Said man jumped a little. The Hero walked up and leaned onto the wall as well.

"We have to go, Sheik."

"We?"

"I'm not going back alone. No, I _can't_ go back alone."

"Why?"

"I need you."

"That sounds cheesy."

"Shut up."

Sheik grinned. "What for anyway?"

Link raised a brow as he glanced towards his friend. "What's with all the questions?"

"I don't like the unknown."

Link sighed. _Of course._ "To save someone… dear to me."

Sheik sighed sadly. "I don't deserve to be saved from this infinite hell of a repetition, Link, no matter the reason."

"What are you talking about? Of course you—"

"No, Link, I don't."

"And why is that?"

"I'm a horrible person, not to say the worst."

Link stood up straight to face Sheik. "What are you talking about? You're the best human being I've ever met?"

"Hn, can I even be called human?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"The things I've seen, the things I've _done_, none of it was human." Link opened his mouth to retort, but Sheik raised his hand, silencing him. "I've witnessed _everything_, from slaughters to rapes, even things you could not imagine in your wildest nightmares. My soul is rotting inside me because of it, Link. I can't think straight, I barely sleep and… remembering the faces of the innocent people I watched die before me, that I could not save, that I _murdered _and_ tortured_, gives me the worst nightmares in the history of mankind, thus the reason I cannot sleep. But the worst thing I've ever done is to—"

Sheik's eyes went wide as he suddenly felt strong arms wrap around him. "I don't care, Sheik. None of it has anything to do with me."

"You."

"Me what?"

"The worst thing I've ever done… is to you." He tried to push away from Link, but the man, but the latter only tightened his grip. "I—"

"Don't want to hear it."

Sheik looked up at Link with questioning eyes. "What?"

"Everything I remember about you is nothing but good. You took me in when no one else even looked my way, you fed me, gave me a home. You actually _cared_ about me. Sure you were not always the easiest person to live with and immature," Sheik chuckled, "but you're the only family and I won't lose you, not again, not now that I have you again. I can see that it's painful for you to tell me what you've done, so don't. I won't push you. You can tell me when you're ready."

Sheik sighed with a faint smile, lowering his head onto Link's shoulder, faintly wrapping his arms around him.

"Thank you, Link. I… let's go."

"Alright, but I have to warn you about something," Light started to surround them. "you're not wearing much…"

"I'll survive," Sheik chuckled.

They both started to feel dizzy as they began to spin, the light winding around them rapidly.

"And… And I…"

"Yes?"

"I… have a son."

Sheik felt something shatter inside of him.

* * *

Bright light filled the Temple, temporarily blinding Cassil momentarily. He should have listened to Zelda when she recommended him to cover his eyes and back up, but he was curious to see what would happen. Big mistake. The force field that formed around the two men as soon as Link lost consciousness_ exploded_, pushing him away and to the ground. His head started to throb and his ears rang madly in his ears. How hard had he fell? _Hard enough to hear voices_, he thought.

"You're barely wearing anything…"

Cassil's face went beet red. _What the… this is not the time to be thinking about this kind of stuff, you idiot!_ He heard a different voice chuckle and say something like it did not matter and something else that he did not quite catch.

"I… have a son."

As soon as the voice finished that sentence, the light disappeared, allowing Cassil to see the two men kneeling on the pedestal pad slowly opening their eyes.

Sheik pushed Link away and the latter looked utterly shocked. The tanned Hylian stood, brushing off his pants, noticing that his hair fell into his face, casting a curtain over his eyes. He blew it away, but it immediately fell back into place.

"Damn it," he muttered to himself.

"I would recommend a haircut, brother," Zelda finally said. Sheik cringed with a heavy frown at the sound of her voice—he had not missed it in the least—then Sheik looked up at her with a faint smile, walking past the still confused Hero who watched him go by with wide eyes. "It's been a while I believe."

"Yes, it has indeed. I presume that you are the Queen now?"

She nodded with teary eyes. "I'm so glad that he was able to bring you back!" Zelda threw herself at her brother, wrapping her arms around him tightly. He gave her a light hug before he slowly backed her up.

"I know you missed me," _But I didn't…_ "but you can't forget that you're a Queen now. Even as a Princess you cannot allow yourself to act like this anymore." She nodded in apology. "As for worrying about the Hero"—the latter winced at the term Sheik used to refer to him, even though it was said in a normal tone—"not being able to save me, you should not have doubted him." Blue eyes met red ones. "Right, Link?"

He jumped again. "U-Uh, yeah… piece of cake, no worries."

Zelda smiled and told Sheik to follow him so that they could find him some clothes that would not get him noticed too much.

Link stood up as he shook his head. Why did Sheik push him away? Before he could think about it any further, he felt a hand grab his arm in a death clutch.

When he turned around, he saw Cassil frowning with a look of disgust graved into his usually soft features of his… true form's face? Link arched a brow. Twili's could only maintain transformations when they were calm and composed, which he clearly was not. "What's wrong—"

"_You could have told me!!_" his son bellowed.

"Tell you what?"

"_Who that… that _thing_ was!!_"

Link watched his son carefully as his eyes started to glow a little with anger. "Cassil, what are you—"

The Twili boy threw his arm to the sides. "_There's no way in _hell _that I'll travel with that _monster_!!_"

"_HEY!_ Don't you go insulting him like that!" Link grabbed his son's shirt by the collar and slightly lifted him up. "You don't know _anything_ about him!"

Cassil laughed. "Oh no, I don't know him personally, but his whole name is a story in itself!" He pushed his father away and started to walk out of the Temple, trying his best to put his Hylian form back up. "_How could I have been so _dense _for Don's_***2***_ sake?!"_

"What are you talking about?!" Link shouted after his son, but no answer came. "Cassil!!"

His shout echoed off the marbled walls and rang in his ears. He scratched his head.

"_DID I MISS SOMETHING?!?!?!"_

* * *

***1* - **You already know that Sheik was aware that he was going to fall into a coma and that he had a high chance of dying ( I think ), but he also knew that he was going to be _brought back to life_ ( although he did not know how or when ), that's why it says until he told her otherwise. But I wasn't sure if I was to explain why further in the story, so… I thought I'd let you know. :D

***2* -** No, I did not misspell Din for Don, you'll understand later. *winks*

* * *

_Clx_ : What could the secret Sheik is desperately hiding from Link?

_Sheik_ : I don't even know.

_Amx _: Why does Cassil despise Sheik so much, that he could barely maintain his Hylian form even though he does not know him?

_Sheik_ : 'Cause I'm better looking than him, duh.

_Cassil _: *glares*

_Link_ : *laughs*

_Clx_ : Why do we keep saying that Sheik is a Hylian even though he's not?

_Link_ : 'Cause you're idiots.

_Both_ : *give him paper cuts*

_Amx_ : Why does Sheik seem to _very highly dislike_ Zelda even though she's his _sister_?

_Zelda_ : Because you two are trying to complicate this story more than it already is.

_Clx _: Why did Sheik push Link away when they came out of the _dream_?

_Sheik_ : Because his breath smelled like a horse's ass.

_Link_ : Hey!

_Epona and Layali_ : *kick his head*

_Amx_ : Will Link ever understand something the first time?

_Link_ : What's with you people and insulting me?!

_Clx _: Is Zelda a closet pervert?

_All _: …………………………… huh ? o_O

_Clx _: I… I don't know… -_-'

* * *

_Clx_ : P.S. Sorry that there has not been much action yet, but it should come soon. :)


End file.
